Guiso de Pava con Pelotas

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide heavy casserole with lid, 5 to 6 litre capacity and about 30cm across
• •Large mixing bowl
• •Digital kitchen scale
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Small mortar or sturdy cup for crushing saffron

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix the pelotas

   Moisten the bread crumb with 60ml of the warm stock and leave it for 10 minutes. Put the pork shoulder, pork belly and blanco in a large bowl. Add the softened bread, eggs, pine nuts, parsley, two finely grated garlic cloves, lemon zest, 8g salt and 1g black pepper. Mix with clean hands just until the mixture becomes evenly tacky and holds together. Don't keep squeezing once it binds, or the pelotas will turn dense.

   Fry a teaspoon of the mixture and taste it before shaping the rest. This is the moment to correct the salt, not when twelve pelotas are already in the broth.
2. 2

   Shape and rest

   Divide the mixture into 12 equal portions of about 70g each. Pésalo, no lo adivines, weigh it, don't guess. With damp hands, shape each portion into a firm ball without crushing it. Arrange them on a tray and refrigerate for 15 minutes so the bread and egg can settle.

3. 3

   Seal the pelotas

   Spread the flour on a plate and roll each pelota through it, shaking off every loose trace. Heat about 60ml of the olive oil in a wide casserole over medium heat. Brown the pelotas in two batches for 3 to 4 minutes, turning carefully until a thin golden skin forms. The centres must remain raw. Lift them onto a clean plate. This short frying is the method that decides the dish: the browned skin holds each pelota together, while the saffron broth finishes the inside without drying it out.

   Don't crowd the casserole. Crowded pelotas shed their flour, lower the temperature and begin to collapse before the surface can set.
4. 4

   Brown the pava

   Pat the turkey dry and season it with 8g salt and the remaining 1g pepper. Spoon out any blackened flour crumbs from the casserole, leaving the browned residue that smells sweet. Brown the turkey in batches, skin side down first, for 8 to 10 minutes per batch. Add a little of the remaining oil if the pan becomes dry. Remove the turkey once the outside is well colored; it is not meant to be cooked through yet.

5. 5

   Cook the sofrito

   Lower the heat and add the remaining oil, then the onion and 2g salt. Cook for 18 to 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is dark gold, soft and almost jammy. Add the remaining two garlic cloves, finely chopped, and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato and cook for another 12 to 15 minutes, until its water has gone and the oil shows around the edges. Take the casserole off the heat, stir in the pimentón for 15 seconds, then immediately add a ladleful of stock so it cannot scorch.

6. 6

   Braise the turkey

   Crush the saffron threads between your fingers and steep them in 100ml of the hot stock for 10 minutes. Return the turkey and its juices to the casserole. Add the bay leaf, saffron infusion and remaining stock. Bring it just to a boil, skim any grey foam, then lower the heat to a quiet simmer. Cover with the lid slightly ajar and cook for about 55 minutes, or until a knife enters the thickest turkey piece with some resistance but no raw firmness. A mature hen turkey may need another 30 to 60 minutes.

7. 7

   Finish in the broth

   Crack each potato piece from the knife rather than cutting it cleanly; the rough edges release enough starch to give the broth body. Add the potatoes, then nestle the browned pelotas among the turkey in one layer. The liquid should come about three-quarters of the way up the meat, so add hot water only if needed. Simmer uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes. Shake the casserole by its handles instead of stirring during the first 10 minutes, then turn the pelotas once. They are ready when the potatoes yield completely, the pelotas reach 71°C at the centre and the turkey has passed 74°C and pulls tenderly from the bone.

8. 8

   Rest and serve

   Remove the bay leaf and take the casserole off the heat. Let the guiso rest for 10 minutes so the broth settles around the potatoes and pelotas. Taste and use the remaining 2g salt only if the broth needs it. Serve each person turkey, potatoes, plenty of saffron broth and two pelotas. Siempre sale, si lo sigues, it turns out if you follow it.

Chef Tips

• •Blanco murciano is the ingredient worth seeking. Longaniza blanca is the nearest Spanish substitute; farther away, use a mild unsmoked pork sausage without fennel or sage. The flavor will be less peppery and the pelota slightly softer, so give the shaped balls their full refrigerator rest.
• •Ask for bone-in turkey thighs and drumsticks rather than breast. Breast dries before the broth develops any depth. A mature hen turkey gives the fullest stock but needs longer; judge it by tenderness, not the clock.
• •Christmas tomatoes are often poor. Use a ripe fresh tomato only if it tastes good raw; otherwise, drain and crush good canned whole tomatoes. The taste is rounder and less fresh, but far better than a hard winter tomato.
• •Pimentón de Murcia is sweet and unsmoked. If you cannot find it, use another good sweet unsmoked paprika. Smoked pimentón pulls the broth toward Extremadura and covers the saffron.
• •A young Monastrell from Jumilla or Bullas has enough fruit for the pork and turkey without bullying the saffron broth. Serve the wine slightly cool, not warm from the room.

Advance Preparation

• •The pelotas can be mixed and shaped up to 24 hours ahead. Keep them covered below 4°C and flour them only immediately before frying.
• •For the best Christmas schedule, prepare the sofrito and braise the turkey one day ahead. Cool the base promptly and refrigerate it, then reheat to a simmer before adding freshly browned pelotas and potatoes.
• •The completed guiso keeps for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Reheat it slowly with a splash of water so the pelotas warm through without breaking and the potatoes do not catch on the bottom.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 650g)