Another of our favourites, this is one we got from the excellent Moro cookbook and is a classic Spanish dish from Aragon. It has a lovely warmth from the chilli (I tend to use a couple of chopped finger chillis that are easy to get in jars in France) but it is a dish that is all about the flavour of the pepper sauce. I use a whole jar of roasted red peppers (4 or 5) and it’s important to use plenty of paprika to add to the pepper flavour – smoked paprika (hot or sweet, depending on whether you want more heat) is definitely the way to go for me. Don’t overdo the tomatoes – half a tin is plenty – otherwise you risk losing the flavour of the peppers.
If you feel you need to thicken up the sauce before serving then just take the chicken out and keep it warm in a low oven while you reduce the sauce. We always serve this with a good mash or new potatoes and, while it’s a bit of a cliche, it is really true that a good Rioja makes a wonderful accompaniment.
Pollo al Chilindron
Ingredients
- 1 chicken, jointed
- 200g smoked gammon or raw ham, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 4 or 5 red peppers, roasted and chopped
- 200g chopped tomatoes
- ½ dried chilli, seeded and chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place the chicken joints in a large casserole with some oil, skin-side down. Season the chicken well with salt, pepper and paprika.
- Place the casserole over a medium heat and brown the chicken. Add in the chopped gammon as you're turning the chicken pieces.
- Once the chicken is browned, add in the chopped peppers, the tomato, the garlic and the chilli and bring to a simmer. At this point, I like to transfer the casserole to a hottish oven (the bottom of the top oven in our Aga) to cook gently for 30 mins or so. You can then just move it down to a low oven until you're ready to eat.