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Kig ha farz
Beef and pork with buckwheat pudding
Breton pot-au-feu of beef and salt pork with buckwheat pudding
Kig ha farz, "meat and stuffing" in Breton, belongs to the Léon country of north Finistère, where it is still the big shared dish of village fêtes, rugby-club dinners and family gatherings. Beef shin and salt pork belly simmer for hours with cabbage, carrots, leeks and turnips, and in the same pot sits a cotton bag of buckwheat batter that cooks into a dense, nutty pudding. The pudding is crumbled and served with the meats and vegetables, often with lipig, a sauce of shallots melted in butter. Chef's tip: tie the cloth bag loosely, leaving room for the batter to double, or the pudding turns heavy and rubbery.
- Total time
- 250 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the pot
- 2 ⅝ lb beef shin or brisketin 2 or 3 large pieces
- 1 ⅓ lb salt pork belly (petit salé)soaked in cold water for 2 hours
- 21 cups water
- 1 onionstudded with 3 cloves
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 6 carrotshalved
- 3 leekscut into chunks
- 4 turnipsquartered
- 1 green cabbagecut into 8 wedges
For the buckwheat farz
- 1 ⅛ lb buckwheat flour
- 1 ¾ oz plain flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 ¼ cups whole milk
- 2 ⅛ oz buttermelted
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp salt
For the lipig
- 3 ½ oz salted butter
- 4 shallotsfinely sliced
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Put 2 ⅝ lb beef shin or brisket and 1 ⅓ lb salt pork belly (petit salé) in your largest pot with 21 cups water. Bring slowly to the boil over a medium heat, skimming off the foam.
20 minStep 2: Add 1 onion, 1 bouquet garni and 1 tsp black peppercorns, lower the heat and simmer gently.
60 minStep 3: Meanwhile, whisk 1 ⅛ lb buckwheat flour, 1 ¾ oz plain flour, 1 tbsp caster sugar and 1 tsp salt with 2 eggs, 1 ¼ cups whole milk and 2 ⅛ oz butter, then add a ladle of the hot broth to make a thick batter that drops from the spoon.
Step 4: Pour the batter into a wet cotton pudding bag or a double layer of clean muslin, filling it no more than half full, and tie the top. Don't fill it to the top: that is the usual reason the farz comes out dense and raw in the middle.
Step 5: Lower the bag into the simmering pot and cook gently, turning it now and then.
90 minStep 6: Add 6 carrots, 3 leeks, 4 turnips and 1 green cabbage and simmer until the vegetables are tender and the beef is fork-tender, with the meat pulling apart easily.
40 minStep 7: For the lipig, melt 3 ½ oz salted butter in a small pan over a low heat and cook 4 shallots very gently until soft and golden, not brown.
15 minStep 8: Lift out the bag, roll it firmly on the worktop to break the pudding into crumbs, then open it into a warm dish.
Step 9: Slice the meats and serve with the vegetables, the crumbled farz and the lipig poured over; offer the broth in cups alongside.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 720 kcal
- Protein
- 48 g
- Carbs
- 62 g
- Fat
- 31 g
- Fibre
- 9 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kig ha farz take?
- About 250 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 210 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of black peppercorns?
- Ground black pepper, a little less than the amount.
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