chicken in garlic sauce
rating:This recipe comes from 'A little taste of Spain'. As is so often the case, I've tinkered with it a bit, but you may well prefer to use the original recipe, devoid of tinkerings, so I've put my changes in brackets.
1kg boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I prefer small drumsticks with the bones left in)
1 tablespoon sweet pimenton (I use half a tablespoon of sweet pimenton and half of hot pimenton because I like fiery food)
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 garlic cloves, unpeeled
60ml (quarter cup) dry sherry
125 mil (half cup) chicken stock
1 bayleaf
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley (I prefer the curly stuff)
Trim any excess fat from the chicken and cut the thighs into thirds (I use whole small drumsticks). Combine the pimenton with some salt and pepper in a bowl, add the chicken and toss to coat.
Heat half the oil in a large frying pan over high heat and cook the garlic cloves for 1-2 minutes, or until brown. Remove from pan and reserve.
Cook the chicken, in batches if need be, until brown all over - say 5 minutes. Return all chicken pieces to pan, add sherry, boil for 30 seconds, then add stock and bayleaf. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, over low heat for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, squeeze the garlic pulp into a mortar or small bowl. Add the parsley and pound with pestle or mix with fork to form a paste. Stir the paste into the chicken, then cover and cook for about 10 minutes more (20 minutes if you're using whole drumsticks as opposed to chunks of thigh) - until tender.
A green salad and some spiced basmati rice (the recipe is in nibblous somewhere) are the perfect accompaniments.