Spanish Style Braised Chicken with Spanish Chorizo is a combination of chicken pieces nestled into a lovely curry and saffron-infused sauce complemented with sweet golden raisins, garbanzo beans, spicy Spanish Chorizo
The Making of
Spanish Style Braised Chicken with Spanish Chorizo
Want a lot of flavors, but without a lot of work? Along with something warming and low in calories.
Spanish Style Wine-Braised Chicken with Spanish Chorizo fits the bill perfectly. A rich combination of chicken pieces nestled into a lovely curry and saffron-infused sauce complemented with sweet golden raisins, firm garbanzo beans, spicy Spanish Chorizo, and a touch of orange. Easy to make and on the table in an hour or less? Yes, please.
Let's start with the chicken part
I use bone-in chicken leg/thigh combos which I separate at the joint between the leg and thigh.
You can see where to cut when you turn the leg/thigh combo over, skin side down, just find where the white fatty part runs between them, that's the perfect place to cut.
Removing the skin to helps save some calories and fat, but also when stewing chicken I find the skin gets flabby anyway so why keep it on? No reason to, and this way all the lovely spices and flavors can easily penetrate the chicken meat.
While I prefer leg/thighs they are higher in fat than chicken breasts.
But it's the little bit of extra fat that gives them their texture and flavor which I think is a plus in this dish.
You could make this with a chicken breast if you insist. If so, I would still use a bone-in breast, cut into 4 pieces, skinned. The cooking time should be about the same - perhaps a bit less.
You could also use all thighs or all legs.
But whatever you use, get the chicken cut, skinned, and rubbed with the spices, then let it sit while you work on the rest of the dish allowing the chicken to feel the spice love.
Chorizo
For this recipe, you want to go to Spain and buy Spanish Chorizo. OK, you don't have to go to Spain, you can go to the grocery store and buy it. Don't buy Mexican chorizo though, that is a completely different animal or should I say animal parts.
Spanish chorizo is made from pork meat and fat, flavored with paprika, then smoked. Mexican chorizo is made from ground meats (and sometimes parts), uncooked, unsmoked, and sold loose or in casings. Spanish chorizo is more like salami. Mexican chorizo is more like hamburger.
If you can't find Spanish chorizo, you could substitute Portuguese linguica with some success, or even a smoked Kielbasa.
Saffron
Just a pinch will do ya! And that's a good thing as saffron is considered the most expensive spice on the planet. Although having just bought a single vanilla bean for $10.95 the other day, I might beg to differ.
But ounce for ounce saffron wins most $$ at about $500.00 per.
The competition is tough on who produces the best saffron with it coming from Spain, Iran, India and almost all continents except Antartica.
Most exported saffron comes from Iran which produces about 90% of all commercial saffron, but I think Spanish saffron is the best.
Buy the best you can, make it a gift to you - or if you are on a budget, Trader Joes sells an acceptable product at around $5.00. It'll do in a pinch.
Saffron does best when it is allowed to "bloom" prior to adding it to a dish.
Putting it into water, broth, or best, an acid, helps the flavors to release and expand.
So put it into the wine - along with the chicken broth, curry powder, and cayenne -it all gets added at the same time anyway.
The Rest
Golden raisins for sweetness, Sherry wine vinegar for tartness, Garbonzo beans for texture and fiber, and toasted salted Pistachios for crunch. The perfect finishing touches to create depth.
So give your mouth a flavor sensation and try this easy, warming dish soon!
Spanish Style Braised Chicken with Spanish Chorizo
Spanish Style Braised Chicken with Spanish Chorizo
Ingredients
- ½ cup golden raisins
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt divided
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 4 bone-in chicken thighs skin removed and fat trimmed
- 4 bone-in chicken legs skin removed and fat trimmed
- 1 teaspoon olive oil or as needed
- 6 ounces dry-cured Spanish chorizo cut in half lengthwise, then sliced into ¼ inch slices
- 1 15.5 ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
- 1 small onion cut in half lengthwise root to stem, then thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
- ½ cup dry red wine a Rioja works well here
- ½ cup low-sodium chicken stock
- Large pinch Spanish saffron put into the wine to allow it to bloom
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon Sherry vinegar
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley plus some for garnish
- ¼ cup dry roasted salted shelled pistachios
Instructions
- In a small bowl cover the raisins with hot water and set aside.
- Mix together with the cumin, smoked paprika, and 1 teaspoon salt. Rub well over both sides of the chicken pieces. Set-aside.
- In a medium bowl mix together the chickpeas, orange zest and ½ teaspoon of salt.
- Heat the oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven or skillet; add the chorizo and cook, stirring, until beginning to crisp about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and add them to the chickpeas. Stir to combine.
- Add (or remove) oil from the pan until you have about 2 tablespoons fat, then add the chicken pieces cooking them for about 10 minutes, turning as needed, until browned. Add the onion to the pan and cook until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the wine, chicken stock, saffron, curry powder, and cayenne. Lower the heat to simmer, cover and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Drain the raisins and add to the chicken along with the chickpea/chorizo mixture. Stir in the Sherry vinegar. Simmer for 3 - 4 minutes then stir in ¼ cup parsley. Divide chicken between 4 warm bowls, top with toasted pistachios and additional chopped parsley, if desired.
Leave a Reply