Chicken Coxinha

Method

Add the olive oil and butter in a pan and over a medium heat begin to soften the garlic and onions for about 10 minutes. Try not to colour them too much and then add in the cooked shredded chicken, salt, and paprika and allow to cook for a few minutes before taking off the heat. Add the cream cheese and chopped parsley, stir to combine and leave to one side.

The dough is up next and in a clean pan, pour in the stock, butter and milk and bring to a boil. Once it hits the boil turn the heat right down and add all of the flour and keep stirring until it begins to form a dough. Take the pan off the heat and allow the dough to cool down a bit. You'll have to work with it when it's warm but not burning hot.

On a lightly floured surface, tip out the warm dough and give it a good knead. You want it to be soft but not sticky

Take a palmful of dough and begin to roll it onto a ball. You're looking for a ball about 2 inches across. Flatten the dough ball with your hands on the work surface and spoon some of the chicken filling into the centre before wrapping the dough and sealing

Once you've made all the coxinha, add the egg into a small bowl and beat the egg until frothy. In another bowl, add your dried breadcrumbs

Dip the coxinha in the egg first, shake off some excess and then roll in the breadcrumbs to coat. Put the braded coxinha on a plate and finish off the rest

I usually like to give them coxinha 20 minutes to set in the fridge but you can start to deep fry them straight away if needed

In a deep fryer or a pan, heat the oil to 180 C and add the coxinha. You'll possibly have to turn them over whilst cooking but keep frying them until they are golden brown all over

Use a slotted spoon top remove them from the oil, place on a towel to drain excess and then serve immediately