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Sfiria (cheese croquettes in chicken sauce)
Sfiria: Algiers' golden bread, cheese and egg croquettes served in a white cinnamon chicken sauce
AlgerianSfiria belongs to the old bourgeois cooking of Algiers, served on Ramadan evenings and at family celebrations: little croquettes of soaked bread, grated cheese and egg, scented with cinnamon, are fried golden and then laid in a pale chicken and chickpea sauce flavoured with cinnamon and white pepper. The croquettes are light and spongy, soaking up just enough sauce to be juicy, and the dish tastes delicate and faintly sweet. Day-old white bread without crusts gives the best texture. Chef's tip: add the croquettes to the sauce only at the last minute; leaving them to simmer is the common mistake, and they swell, go soggy and fall apart.
- Total time
- 80 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the chicken sauce
- 4 chicken legsabout 1 kg, skin removed, cut in two
- 1 oz butter
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 oniongrated
- ½ tsp ground white pepper
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 4 ¼ cups water
- 8 ½ oz cooked chickpeasdrained
For the croquettes
- 9 oz day-old white breadcrusts removed
- ¾ cup milk
- 3 eggs
- 3 ½ oz grated cheesesuch as gruyère or emmental
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ¼ cups vegetable oilfor shallow frying
To serve
- 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley (optional)chopped
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Melt 1 oz butter with 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a large pot over a medium heat. Add 4 chicken legs, 1 onion, 1 cinnamon stick, ½ tsp ground white pepper and 1 ½ tsp salt and stir for 5 minutes until the chicken turns white all over.
5 minStep 2: Add 4 ¼ cups water, bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 40 minutes, adding 8 ½ oz cooked chickpeas for the last 10 minutes. The chicken is done when it is tender and reads 165°F in the thickest part.
40 minStep 3: Meanwhile, tear 9 oz day-old white bread into a bowl, pour over ¾ cup milk and leave for 5 minutes. Squeeze it lightly and mash with a fork until smooth.
5 minStep 4: Beat in 3 eggs, 3 ½ oz grated cheese, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp baking powder and ½ tsp salt to a thick, soft paste that holds on a spoon. Add a spoon of breadcrumbs or flour if it is too loose.
Step 5: Heat 1 ¼ cups vegetable oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Drop in heaped tablespoons of the mixture, flatten slightly and fry for 2 to 3 minutes per side until puffed and deep golden. Drain on kitchen paper.
15 minStep 6: Just before serving, remove the cinnamon stick, lay the croquettes in the simmering sauce and spoon sauce over them for 1 minute.
1 minStep 7: Serve at once in deep plates, chicken and croquettes together with the sauce and chickpeas, scattered with 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley if you like.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 720 kcal
- Protein
- 52 g
- Carbs
- 42 g
- Fat
- 37 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sfiria (cheese croquettes in chicken sauce) take?
- About 80 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 55 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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