How to Cook: Lengua Mechada, Chicken Pastel, and Chicken Pastel's Gravy

Lengua Mechada

This is a Spanish Recipe. Beef tongue is used with strips of spiced fat inserted through the meat. The meat is cooked until tender, then sliced and served in its own sauce.
The recipe is as follows:

1 beef tongue, about 2 kilos
4 strips of fat or bacon, spiced
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 tablespoon toyo
1 teaspoon pimenton
5 tablespoons margarine
1 can tomato sauce or 4 to 6 tomatoes, diced
a pinch of mustard
5 cloves garlic, minced fine
1/2 cup white wine
4 cups water
1/2 bottle olives
1 laurel leaf

Procedure:

Wash and scald the tongue until the white lining can easily be scraped off.
Season the strips of fat with salt, pepper, toyo, and pimenton.
Pierce the tongue lengthwise with a pointed knife and insert the strips of fat or bacon.
Fry the tongue in margarine until brown.
Add the tomato sauce, mustard, garlic, pimenton, laurel, white wine, remaining toyo, and pepper.
Cover with water and simmer until tender and almost dry.
Add the olives.
Slice and serve in its own sauce.
serves 20 to 24 persons.

Chicken Pastel

This dish is often served at family gatherings. The gravy, the chicken, and the crust for chicken pastel need careful preparation to come out just right. Here is how it is done.

1 young chicken, dressed and cut into pieces
juice of one lime or dayap
3 tablespoons toyo
1 choriso de Bilbao, sliced
4 tablespoons margarine
3 hard-cooked egg, sliced
1 small can peas, drained from the can
1 can Vienna sausage, sliced diagonally

Procedure:

Put the chicken in a bowl; add lime juice and toyo. Let stand for 15 minutes.
Fry the chicken and choriso in margarine until brown.
Turn the chicken into a pastelera (pyrex baking dish).
Arrange egg slices, peas, and Vienna sausage on top of chicken.
Pour the gravy over the mixture.
Cover top of baking dish with the pie crust. Press down the edges.
Bake in a moderate oven until brown.
Serve direct from oven. Serves 10 to 12.

Gravy for Chicken Pastel

Make a medium white sauce, using chicken stock, flour and milk. For every cup chicken stock add 1 tablespoon of flour dissolved in one tablespoon of milk. Season with salt and pepper.