Chicken with garlic. Three words that raise my spirits and excite my taste buds. The fierce looking, nice natured, women of a certain age who live around me in Andalucia swear by this meal. Though sometimes they replace the chicken with a rabbit as they come in much bigger sizes than chickens. Either way, it’s a relatively simple to prepare, tasty dish for those who like garlic.
If using a chicken, choose a small free range one with a high ratio of bone to flesh. That makes it easier to chew and eat with your fingers, if so desired. The olive oil should be mild and golden and not green and leafy. The garlic must be firm and plump and show no signs of sprouting. This recipe is for four people.
Ingredients:- 1 small free range chicken. Jointed into bite sized pieces. 1-2 tablespoons of seasoned flour. 8 tablespoons of olive oil. 8-12 garlic cloves, unpeeled. 150 mils of dry sherry or white wine.
What to do next:- Dust the chicken joints through the seasoned flour. Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan. When it is lightly hazed blue add the chicken joints. Turn down the heat and fry gently for 10 minutes, turning and browning all sides. Add the garlic cloves and fry them for around 5 minutes and until the paper like coverings go a little brown.
Add the sherry or white wine and allow it to bubble until the steam no longer smells of the wine or sherry. Turn down the heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes more. Make sure the chicken is cooked all the way through by pushing a sharp knife through one of the thigh joints. When the juices run clear rather than pink, your chicken is ready. Ensure the wine has totally evaporated and the juices are reduced to a thick, oily little dressing.
Allow to cool. Serve either with bread and eat with your fingers or with Bomba Spanish rice.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
i,ve been selling pollo alajillo for the last 26 years and over the years i will give you a few tips
bone the chicken and leave some of the skin on
use a mixture of white and brown meat adding the white later as it cooks quicker than brown ,brown as quickly as possible but cook the chiken with no liquid as it part boils it and the colour &taste seem to mingle into one remove chicken add garlic & a little olive oil to the same pan cook until golden before add sherry to stop burning garlic deglaze then return chiken to pan saute again tahts it !! good luck