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

 
 
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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.