Recipe
Bola de Favaios
Serves
4
Active Time
25 MIN
Origin
ALENTEJO
During tomato season, there are no bad cooks.
— PORTUGUESE SAYING
In the old days, the Bola de Favaios, like all other bolas from the Trás-os-Montes region, was only made for Easter or on the day of the Patron Saint. Today, because they are so appetizing, these savory breads are made on any pretext. They go just as well with a cup of tea as with a glass of wine. The bread dough, bought from the baker or prepared expressly for this purpose, is common to all the bolas made in Trás-os-Montes, as is the generous use of olive oil, which is preferred over other fats. Some doughs contain eggs, sometimes milk, and others even milk. There are those who claim that it is the eggs that give the right to call this emblematic Trás-os-Montes delicacy a "folar." Reality, however, denies this statement. We accept the general view of the locals, which is the most widely shared throughout the country: that the name "folar" refers specifically to Easter, while the term "bola" is used year-round. The filling varies from house to house; it can be made of prosciutto, codfish, or sardines, but the most traditional is the rich filling of this Bola de Favaios, a town famous for its olive oil, Moscatel wine, and cured meats. For any of the Trás-os-Montes bolas, the most recommended olive oils are, naturally, the most intensely flavored olive oils from Trás-os-Montes, such as the virgin olive oils of this region.
THE RECIPE
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 1 kg of bread dough
- ½ chicken
- ½ rabbit
- 500 g of veal for stewing
- 1 onion
- 4 dl of extra virgin Trás-os-Montes olive oil (preferably, about 2 cups)
- 1 sprig of parsley
- Salt and pepper
- 150 g of salted streaky pork fat (toucinho entremeado)
- 125 g of prosciutto (presunto)
- 125 g of salpicão (cured pork sausage)
Preparation
Buy the dough from the baker, grease it well with olive oil, cover it with plastic wrap, and set it aside in the refrigerator. Cut the meats into pieces. Chop the onion and place it over the heat to brown with ¼ portion of the extra virgin olive oil and a sprig of parsley. Add the meats, turn them a few times over high heat, season with a little salt and pepper, reduce the heat, and cover. Let the meats stew, adding small splashes of water as needed, stirring the mixture. When the meats are almost tender, add the pork fat, prosciutto cut into strips, and the salpicão cut into rounds. Let it stew for just 5 minutes. Remove the stew from the heat, and when warm, remove the skins and bones from the meats and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Adjust the seasonings. Generously grease a baking pan with olive oil and line the bottom and sides with about ⅔ parts of the dough. Place the stewed meats inside, over which you scatter torn sprigs of parsley and some of the gravy from the stew. Cover everything with the remaining dough, sealing it well. You can decorate the surface with small rolls of dough. Grease it well with olive oil and let it rise again in a warm place. When the bola looks very puffy, grease it again with olive oil and some of the remaining gravy from the stew that was left over. Bake in a very hot oven (200 °C to 220 °C) until beautifully golden brown. Eat hot, warm, or cold.