All About Foods Court

This Spanish chicken in sauce recipe is not complicated and can be made with a whole chicken cut into pieces, or with boneless, skinless pieces for a lower calorie option. The garlic, onion and white wine combine to make an absolutely delicious sauce – especially for dipping bread or drowning your rice.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken or 10-12 boneless, skinless pieces of thigh or breasts cut into pieces
1 handful of bread crumbs
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 yellow onion
2 sprigs of Italian parsley
2-3 threads saffron
1 cup white wine
1/3 cup olive oil (approximately)
salt to taste
Preparation:

This Spanish chicken in sauce makes 4-6 servings.

Note: You’ll need a wooden or plastic mortar and pestle for this recipe. Why use a mortar and pestle? Using a pestle in a downward circular motion to force ingredients against the surface of the mortar and smashing it will release more flavor than using a food processor. (It doesn’t need to be plugged in and it’s easier to clean, too!)

Pour a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan and heat on medium heat. Add chicken and fry a few pieces at a time, turning over as they brown. You do not have to cook thoroughly – simply brown the pieces. As you remove the chicken from the pan, put on a plate and set aside.

Using the olive oil left in the pan, add a handful of bread crumbs and fry for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove and reserve in a bowl.

Peel and chop the onion. If necessary, add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, and sauté the onion on medium heat, careful not to burn it. Remove the sautéed onion with a slotted spatula and place in the mortar. Using the oil in the bottom of the pan, sauté the garlic clove. As soon as the garlic starts to brown, remove it and place in the mortar with the onion.

Break the parsley sprigs into pieces and add to the mortar. Add saffron and bread crumbs to the mortar and “grind” together with parsley, onion and garlic using the pestle.

Wash the frying pan and add 2 tablespoons of oil. Heat pan on medium. Add the browned chicken. Add a bit of white wine to the mixture in the mortar and swirl around, then empty into the pan with the rest of the wine. Add water and stir.

Cook chicken for 20-30 minutes on medium heat, partially covering the pan. A few minutes before serving, sprinkle a couple teaspoons of chopped parsley over the top and continue cooking. Serve with white rice or fried potatoes.By Lisa & Tony Sierra

"Arroz con pollo" or Chicken and Rice is a standard main course in homes across Spain and Latin America. It is popular because it is so tasty! There are many different versions, so this recipe is a basic version to start with.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
1 small chicken (or 10 pieces chicken), cut into small pieces*
1 ripe tomato, diced
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 red pepper, sliced into long strips
2-3 cups medium grain rice
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 tsp turmeric (optional - for yellow coloring)
4-5 Tbsp extra virgin Spanish olive oil
Preparation:

* Legs and thighs work well for this recipe because they are small and easy to stir.

This chicken and rice recipe makes 4-6 servings.

In a large frying pan or skillet, saute tomato, onion and pepper in olive oil. When onion is translucent, add pieces of chicken and cook for 5-8 minutes.

Add rice to pan, stirring to coat all the grains with the oil. Add chicken broth and turmeric, if desired. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered until the rice is cooked – approximately 20 minutes.By Lisa & Tony Sierra

Try this flavorful chicken stew, typical of stews eaten in the region of Castilla, where the winters are chilly and food warms you from the inside out. Served with home-fried potatoes and warm, crusty French bread and a simple green salad for a filling, delicious meal.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hours

Ingredients:
1 whole fryer, cut into pieces or 8-10 pieces of chicken
1/4 cup virgin Spanish olive oil
2 cups of white mushrooms, sliced
4-5 large cloves of garlic, unpeeled
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 medium sweet red pepper
2 peeled carrots, cut into large pieces
1 - 16 oz. can green peas, drained
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:

Remove excess fat and skin from chicken, rinse in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. In a large, deep frying pan or skillet, heat olive oil and brown chicken for 5-7 minutes on medium high heat.

Add mushrooms, garlic, onion, carrots and sweet red pepper to pan and sauté until mushrooms are softened and onion is translucent, approximately 5 minutes on medium heat.

Add white wine to skillet and turn heat to high until broth boils, then reduce and simmer until chicken is cooked thoroughly and liquid is reduced a bit and thickens, 20-30 minutes. Check the pan while chicken is cooking and add more broth or water if necessary.

Just before serving, add green peas to pan and stir well. Serve with home-fried potatoes.

Note: Spaniards like to use their wonderful, crusty French-style bread to “mop up” the sauce.
By Lisa & Tony Sierra

This chicken recipe comes from the region of La Rioja, in the North of Spain, hence the name "Pollo a la Riojana" or Rioja-Style Chicken. It is a region well-known for its wine production. The winters in Northern Spain are cold, like the climate in much of Europe, so soups and stews are very popular. This stew includes chicken and chorizo with sautéed peppers and garlic. It is a hearty main course for winter, but is light enough for any time of the year.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:
1 chicken, cut in 8 pieces, OR 8 pieces of legs and breasts
1 yellow onion, peeled
2 cloves garlic
2 red peppers
1 spanish chorizo sausage
3-4 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 sprigs parsley
1 cup white wine
1 cup chicken broth
1-15 oz can peas, drained (or 8 oz frozen peas)
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:

This Rioja-style chicken recipe makes 4-5 servings.

Important Note: If you are unable to find Spanish chorizo sausage, you may substitute Portuguese Linguica sausage, which is very similar. Mexican or Caribbean varieties cannot be used as substitutes for Spanish chorizo in Spanish recipes, due to the difference in consistency and flavor.

Peel and chop the onion. Peel the garlic and cut into thin slices. Remove the stems and seeds and cut the red peppers into strips. Slice the chorizo into rounds. Chop the parsley.

Heat a large, heavy-bottomed pot with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Brown the chicken in the pot on both sides. Remove pot from heat and set aside.

While the chicken is browning in the pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed frying pan or skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until onion is translucent. Add parsley, peppers, chorizo. Cook, stirring often for about 10 minutes.

Add vegetables to the large pot of chicken and mix. Add white wine and chicken broth. Stir. Cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes. About 5 minutes before removing chicken from stove, add peas.

This dish is from Santander, on the north coast of Spain. Fresh sardines, fried and then sauteed with tomato sauce is a great dish to serve with warm bread to soak up the sauce.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
16 fresh sardines
1 cup flour
1 cup Spansh virgin olive oil
1 yellow or white onion, chopped
5 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1/8 cup parsley, chopped
salt to taste
Preparation:

This sardine recipe makes 4 servings.

Clean the sardines, removing heads and innards. Rinse thoroughly under cold water.

Pour olive oil into large, heavy frying pan and place on stove on medium high heat. Place the flour on a plate. Coat each sardine with flour and fry in pan. When done, remove them and place on a plate for later.

Add the onion, garlic, parsley to the frying pan and sauté in the remaining oil. Add tomatoes and sauté 5-10 minutes further.

Add the sardines back into the frying pan with the other ingredients and cook another 5-10 minutes. Add salt to taste. Serve with bread.

This recipe is from Rota, a city in the province of Cadiz, which is located in the region of Andalucia (Southern Spain). Urta is a kind of snapper that is local to the area. Rota has had an annual Urta Festival for almost 40 years. Try this simple and delicious dish and see why Rota is crazy about it!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 00 minutes

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp Spanish olive oil
4 cloves garlic
2 large yellow onions
3 sweet green peppers (long, not bell)
1 26 oz can crushed tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of nutmeg
2 bay leaves
2 lbs snapper fillets
Preparation:

This baked snapper rotena Makes 4 servings.

Slice 1 onion into thin rings and seed and cut the peppers into strips. Pour 2 tbsp olive oil into a large frying pan and heat to medium. Sauté 1 onion and peppers. Add the crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. Add the bay leaves. Cook for about 30 minutes.

While the tomato sauce is cooking, prepare the fish and pan. Cut the onion into julienne strips and lightly fry in a pan. Grease a baking dish or casserole dish with a bit of olive oil and spread the strips around on the bottom of the dish. Flour the fish fillets and cut into 3-4 inch pieces. Place fish in baking dish. Cover fish with tomato sauce, spreading evenly.

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Place in oven and bake until fish is tender, 20-30 minutes.