Spanish Chicken



I love Chorizo, it is so versatile and can be used as the main ingrediant in many dishes or as in this Spanish Chicken dish it is the subsiduary ingredient that gives a piquant flavouring to chicken.  This technically is more like Mediterranean Chicken rather than just Spanish but the name has stuck in our house.

This is such a simple one pot meal that everyone loves. You need time and you need to keep an eye on it but there is little effort other than that.  It would lend itself well to being in a slow cooker but I would add the tomatoes earlier and may be a little more liquid (an extra tin or some water)


Ingrediants 

Chicken pieces (I use skinless chicken breast but drumsticks or wings would work)
Olive oil
Chorizo sliced or cut into small chunks 
Baby potatoes (salad or new) 
Onions finely chopped

Zest and juice of an orange
Oregano (dried)
Tin of tomatoes 

Pimento filled Olives (cut in half)


Place chicken in  deep roasting dish with a little olive oil drizzled over the top.



Sprinkle over the chorizo – this determines the heat of the dish – with the children I tend to use the milder versions, but you can ramp up the heat with a spicier version according to the family’s taste.

Next throw in the potoatoes and onions – all fairly randomly.  
a good firm shake of the dish will help the oil disperse over the potatoes as well (you can add a touch more oil if you want and if it looks too dry but beware the chorizo will expel plenty of oil as it starts to cook)

Finally add the oregano, librally sprinkling it over the meat and vegetables and finish off with the orange zest (only).  Another good shake will mix the ingredients and then place into a hot oven.  I give it several hours and will turn the oven down as it all cooks and blends together.  (you could just serve after an hour once cooked but the extra time deepens the intensity of the flavours)

This should be checked regularly and turned. Once the chicken is more or less cooked, turn the heat down.   I also tend to cover with foil or a lid at this point to stop any more drying out. I find I need to check it often not because it needs it but it fills the room with such a heady mix of aromas that you get a stream of visitors to the kitchen “what time is tea that smells wonderful”

As the pot starts to dry add the juice of the orange and then the tin of tomatoes and stir well .  This is when to turn it down if you have not already done so and you are looking at about 20 mins to 1/2 hour before serving. 

With about 10 minutes to go – throw in the olives – you can slice these but I tend to cut them in half as the youngest does not like them (the ones he manages to see) and it is easier to pick them out 


Serve straight from the dish and watch how quickly your dishes are cleared, a great warming dish for after a sporting weekend fixture or a telly meal curled up with a steaming bowl full.

Serve some green vegetables or a green salad with this.  I like crispy kale which gives a crispy crackle as you eat.  Empty a bag of Kale on to a roasting dish, cover with a little olive oil and a good sprinkling of salt and pop in the oven – probably not for long in a hot oven but I put it in the cool oven when I added the tomatoes and leave it there till serving.  Beware the kale is very brittle.





Give this a try and enjoy and let me know how you get on –  Add your own bits, take out the olives and use garlic earlier, switch the orange for a lemon or try it with turkey or game 

love 

Tiggy 


Take a look at my writing blog here at Tiggy Hayes 

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