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Recipe: Meal-in-a-pot (Puchero)

Meal-in-a-pot (Puchero)
Meal-in-a-pot (Puchero)
(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
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Meal-in-a-pot (Puchero)

Total time: 1 hour, 50 minutes

Servings: 4, plus additional broth


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1 cup chickpeas, soaked 8 hours and drained

1/2 chicken (about 1½ pounds)

6 ounces meaty beef shin bone

6 ounces pork spare ribs

2 ounces salt pork or pancetta

4 ounces hambone

1 leek, white and light green part only

1 whole carrot

1 whole turnip

1 whole stalk celery

3 quarts water

3 boiling potatoes (1 pound), peeled but left whole

Salt

4 thick slices bread or ½ cup medium-short grain rice or vermicelli noodles

Sprigs of fresh mint

1. In a large soup pot, combine the chickpeas, chicken, beef, ribs, salt pork and hambone, along with the leek, carrot, turnip and celery. Add the water. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Skim the froth off of the top, cover the pot and gently simmer for 1 hour.

2. Add the potatoes and season to taste with salt. Cover and continue to cook until the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

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3. Strain 5 cups of the broth into another pot. If preparing the soup with bread, cut the bread into strips and divide it among 4 soup plates. Ladle the hot broth over the bread. If desired, a few chickpeas can be included in the broth. Garnish with sprigs of mint.

If using rice or noodles for the soup, bring the broth to a boil and add the rice or noodles. Simmer until the rice is tender, 15 minutes, or for noodles, 6 minutes. Serve immediately.

4. Remove the meats, vegetables and chickpeas from the soup pot. Cut the chicken and meat each into 4 serving pieces and arrange on a serving platter. Cut up the leek, carrot, turnip and potatoes and place on the platter with the chickpeas.

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5. After serving the soup, serve the platter of meat and vegetables.

6. Leftover broth and chickpeas can be refrigerated and saved for another soup.

Each serving: 676 calories; 37 grams protein; 55 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams fiber; 33 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 107 mg cholesterol; 6 grams sugar; 726 mg sodium.

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