Margarita's International Recipes

Castile

Pollo a la Castellana Castilian Style Chicken This is one of those homey recipes you can find throughout the Iberian peninsula. The flavors are neither bold nor brilliant, but they are comforting. It's a fairly quick dish to put together, you can do so in under an hour, and should go well with any starch. I followed the recipe pretty closely, though I doubled the quantities so it would serve 6 people. I also didn't add the parsley as I didn't have any at home. Pollo a la Castellana Ingredients olive oil 2 onions, chopped 2 garlic cloves salt & pepper to taste 6 lbs. chicken pieces 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. parsley, chopped (optional) pinch of saffron 1 cup white wine 1 cup chicken broth 1/2 tsp. thyme 2 bay leaves Instructions Pour a thin layer of olive oil into a wide cooking pot. Heat over medium heat and add the chopped onions and garlic. Saute until the onions are soft. Remove from heat and put onion/garlic mixture in a food processor or blender. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Add enough olive oil to the pot to have another think layer. Heat over medium-high heat and brown the chicken parts on both sides, you may need to do this in batches. While the chicken is cooking, puree the onions and garlic. Add 1/4 cup chopped parsley, the saffron and salt and pepper. Puree again. Gradually add the wine and chicken broth and pure until very well blended. Once all the chicken pieces are browned return to the pot and strain the sauce over them. Add the thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn down the heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes. Add the remaining 2 Tbsp. of chopped parsley and serve. Adapted from a Penelope Casas' recipe in The Food & Wines of Spain. Castilian Recipes | Margarita's International Recipes | E-mail