Aug 25 2014

Pollo en Salsa al Horno (Roasted Chicken in Sauce)

Posted by Erica Lea in Step-by-Step Recipes

I like to think of this dish as fancy fried chicken. It looks (and sounds) like it took some major slaving in the kitchen to achieve, when in reality it’s super simple.

Today’s recipe for Pollo en Salsa al Horno (Roasted Chicken in Sauce), brought to us by Tammy (aka San Pasqual’s Kitchen here on Tasty Kitchen), was one of firsts for me. I can’t remember having cooked traditional Spanish food before. What a lovely introduction! This was also my first time cooking with saffron. I am so glad that I did. The flavor is subtle but adds a beautiful touch of distinction.

Here are the step-by-step instructions so you can see just how easy it is to make:

These are all the ingredients that you’ll need: Chicken (I used thighs), wine, butter, flour onion, oil (I used coconut oil), saffron, salt, garlic and parsley.

First of all you’ll want to season your chicken with salt. Nobody wants to eat bland chicken.

Nest, coat it with the flour.

Heat your butter and oil in a large skillet.

Once your oil is hot, add the chicken. Careful! It’s gonna sizzle.

Cook until the chicken is nice and crispy and browned.

Transfer the chicken to a baking dish and preheat your oven to 350ºF.

Add the onion to the now-empty skillet of oil.

Meanwhile, as the onion is cooking, combine the parsley, garlic and saffron in a mortar.

Crush them all together.

Add the white wine and give it a stir.

Once the onions are nice and tender, stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for another 2 minutes. Nobody wants to eat raw flour.

Add the wine mixture to the skillet and bring it all to a boil.

Pour the sauce over the chicken in the pan. I switched to a larger pan so that the sauce would more evenly cover the chicken.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 35-45 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Make sure you serve with lots of the flavorful sauce! I cooked up some couscous as an accompaniment (I know it’s not traditionally Spanish, but it sure was delicious and perfect for soaking up the sauce).

Note: I used virgin coconut oil to fry the chicken. I would recommend using expeller pressed coconut oil or some other less flavorful oil so that the saffron will shine through more clearly.

Thank you so much to Tammy for sharing this recipe with us. Stop by her blog, San Pasqual’s Kitchen, for more international recipes. Her Arrosto All’arancia (Roasted Pork with Orange Sauce) looks heavenly.

Printable Recipe

Pollo en Salsa al Horno (Roasted Chicken in Sauce)

by San Pasqual's Kitchen on January 31, 2014 in Main Courses, Poultry

See post on San Pasqual's Kitchen’s site!

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Description

A remarkably tender chicken roasted in a saffron wine sauce. A Spanish wonder.

Ingredients

⅓ cups All-purpose Flour, Divided
4 pounds Chicken Parts
Salt
1 cup Sunflower Oil
2-½ Tablespoons Butter
1 Small Onion
1 clove Garlic, Peeled
2 Sprigs Fresh Parsley
1 pinch Saffron Threads
¾ cups White Wine

Preparation Instructions

Reserve 1 tablespoon of the flour.

Season the chicken pieces with salt and coat them with the remaining flour.

Heat the oil with the butter in a skillet. Add the pieces of chicken and cook over medium heat until browned. Transfer to an ovenproof casserole.

Preheat oven to 350º.

Add the onion to the skillet and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes. While the onion is cooking, crush the garlic, parsley and saffron in a mortar and mix in the wine.

Stir the reserved flour into the onions and stir continuously for 2 minutes. Add in the wine mixture and bring to a boil, stirring continuously, then pour over the chicken.

Put the casserole in the oven and cook for 35 to 45 minutes until chicken is cooked through and tender.

¡Que aproveche! Enjoy!

_______________________________________

Erica Kastner has always been one of our most cherished members of the Tasty Kitchen community. She shares her wonderful recipes and amazing food photography on her blog, Buttered Side Up, and she also writes about crafts and posts more of her beautiful photography in her personal blog, Simple Days. There really isn’t much that this amazing young wife and mother can’t do, and we’re thrilled she does some of it here.

Jun 16 2014

Roasted Garlic and Olive Focaccia

Posted by Erica Lea in Baking

Is it weird that I get excited at the thought of this focaccia (please say it isn’t)? This Roasted Garlic and Olive Focaccia, brought to us by Sommer, is one that I’ll definitely be making again.

The beautifully light crumb is surrounded by a rich, almost buttery olive oil-soaked crust. And the tartness added by the Kalamata olives is brilliant. The roasted garlic is by no means overwhelming—it simply imparts a mellow hint of the flavor.

If you don’t care for extra virgin olive oil, this focaccia is definitely not for you. Because, let me tell you right now, there’s a LOT of olive oil in it. Excuse an evil chuckle.

The amazing ingredients: honey (I used natural sugar), yeast, olive oil, salt, roasted garlic, flour, pitted Kalamata olives, and coarse salt and pepper to taste.

First, we want to activate the yeast. Add a couple teaspoons of your favorite sweetener to 1/4 cup of hot water. Swirl it around to dissolve.

Add 2 teaspoons of active dry yeast and stir to combine.

Let the yeast activate. This should take about 10 minutes.

Pour the yeast mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add 1 1/2 cups of cold water …

3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil …

… and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt.

Mash up the roasted garlic with a fork and add it to the mixing bowl.

Turn your mixer on low and gradually add the flour. I like to use the paddle attachment to initially mix everything together.

Switch to the dough hook and knead the dough for about 10 minutes. It will be quite sticky. Oil the sides of the bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

Let the dough rise until quite puffy, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Make sure to oil your hand before punching the dough down, or you’ll get a sticky mess like I did. You can also just stick the bowl back on the mixer base and turn the machine on for a bit.

Pour a GENEROUS amount of olive oil into the bottom of a pan. I used a 9×13-inch pan. If you prefer a thinner focaccia, you can use a larger pan.

Plop the dough into the pan. At this point you’ll be thinking, “Wow, I used WAY too much olive oil.” Nope. You didn’t.

Push the dough out to the edges of the pan. Use your fingers to poke holes all the way through the dough.

Push the olives deep into the holes.

Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Cover and let the dough get puffy again, about another hour. In the last 20 minutes of raising time, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).

Bake the focaccia until nice and golden on top, about 35-45 minutes. If you decided to use a larger, more shallow pan, you should check the bread at the 30 minute mark.

Turn the dough out onto a wire rack to cool, or just let it cool in the pan. Slice and enjoy. Make sure to spread with butter. It’s the best.

Notes:

1. The focaccia was quite thick baked in the 9×13-inch pan. It was still lovely, just a bit different from what I am used to. I’ll probably bake it in a larger pan next time.
2. My husband didn’t care for the olives, but I adored them. If you’re not a Kalamata olive fan, you can always substitute your favorite olives, or just leave them out!
3. I think this would be lovely as a sandwich bread. I’m envisioning a chicken pesto panini …
4. Make sure you have a head of roasted garlic on hand before you start this recipe!

Thanks so much to Sommer to sharing her recipe with us. Make sure to stop by her blog, A Spicy Perspective, to discover more of her delicious recipes.

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