SPANISH STYLE CHICKEN WITH SHERRY
Wine is used in cooking all the time but a trip to Cadiz and Jerez a few years ago inspired me to use sherry more creatively than just raise a glass at Christmas. Used with seafood or chicken it takes on a wonderful flavour. Sherry is not just for Christmas!
There are many types of sherry - from the very dry fino to the sweet stuff, more commonly drunk here in the UK. In savoury dishes a dry sherry is called for - I’ve used Amontillado here which has a nutty, dry flavour.
We make this regularly and I add different vegetables if they need using up. We ate this with rice, but some crusty bread to mop up those wonderful juices also works!
Options: replace the chicken with meaty cod pieces, adding the fish 15 minutes before removing from the oven.
You could also use halloumi or tofu pieces for a vegetarian/vegan option, adding fried pieces at the end.
Add other veg, like courgettes or peppers. Olives work well too.
Watch my you tube video for inspiration:
[embedyt]https://youtu.be/v-Wg_9Twh38[/embedyt]
https://youtu.be/v-Wg_9Twh38
- 4 whole chicken legs
- seasoning for the chicken: salt, pepper to taste, 1/2 tsp paprika
- 6 tablespoons olive oil ((3 for frying chicken and the rest to sute the veg.)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 2 celery sticks, diced
- a handful of parsley, chopped up
- 1 heaped tablespoon tomato puree
- 2 inches of sweet chorizo, diced
- 1 can of chickpeas, with half the water drained.
- 10 cherry tomatoes
- a handful of pitted sliced olives (optional)
- 10 pickled drop peppers (I used cook & co, sweety drop peppers) (you can use red chilli peppers, deseeded and soaked in a little re wine vinegar)
- salt, pepper, to taste
- 250 ml of chicken stock ( I use a cube to make it up)
- 1 cup plus 2 tbs of dry sherry (I used amontillado)
Trim the chicken of excess skin at the back of the thighs. Make 2/3 deep cuts across the leg and thigh. Season with salt, pepper and paprika, rubbing it into the cuts.
Heat your oven to 200C
Heat 3 tbs olive oil in a large frying pan and brown the chicken - around 2/3 minutes each side. Set aside.
In the same frying pan, add the remaining oil, then add the onions and garlic. Fry briefly, then add the carrots, and celery and saute for 2/3 minutes.
Add the parsley, tomato paste and chorizo and mix well. Then mix in the chick peas.
Transfer to a baking tray, big enough to hold all 4 whole legs. Mix and spread everything out.
Dot with tomatoes (optional olives) and the drop peppers or red chilli. Season well with salt and pepper.
Lay the browned chicken pieces on top
Pour over the sherry , then the stock.
Cover, and bake in the oven for 50/60 mins or till the chicken is very tender. Make sure you baste half way through.
Remove from oven. Pour 2 tbs of sherry over the chicken, cover and let it rest for 10 mins.
Serve with rice or bread - the juices bathed in sherry are lip-smackingly good!