Coxinhas (Brazilian Chicken Croquettes)

Heat 4 cups of chicken stock until almost boiling, then poach the chicken breast, about 10–12 minutes. Reserve the stock and shred the chicken breast in a food processor.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium low heat. Sauté onion and garlic until translucent. Add tomato paste and stir.

Add chicken, scallions, cream cheese, and a ladleful of stock reserved from poaching. Stir until everything is well mixed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn off heat and stir in parsley until well-distributed.
Set the filling aside to make the dough.

In a large sauce pan, heat 3 cups of the reserved stock to boiling with the butter. Add the flour. Reduce the heat and stir in the flour until dough forms into a ball and separates from the sides of the pan.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and allow to cool just enough so it can be handled. Knead the dough until it looks smooth and silky.

Pinch off a golf ball-sized amount of dough and roll it into a ball. Use your hands to flatten the dough circle into a concave shell that fits in the palm of your hand. Place a generous teaspoon of the filling into the dough shell. Shape the coxinhas by pinching the ends of the dough over the filling to form a somewhat pointed top while using your other hand to rotate the dough bottom to form a round. Continue until all of the dough and chicken has been used.

Preheat canola oil in a frying pan under medium heat. There should be enough oil in the pan to cover the coxinhas while they fry.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and milk in a bowl. Pour the bread crumbs into another bowl. Coat each coxinha in the egg wash and then dredge in bread crumbs until they are fully coated. Repeat until all the coxinhas have been breaded.

Fry three at a time in the oil until they are a dark golden brown. Transfer to a paper-covered tray to drain. Serve hot.