Spanish Style Chicken and Garlic

This dish hails from Spain and is based on a tapas dish. Tapas are Spanish small plates. But it tastes so awesome I made it into a main course. As the name implies, there is a lot of garlic combined with smoked paprika and sherry. Now, if you don’t have any smoked paprika, get in your car or on your bike and go get some! Seriously, it’s a bit pricey but it’s awesome and I use it all the time. Use it anywhere you’d use regular paprika or want a bit of sweet smokiness. I always keep it on hand. This is a super quick and easy midweek meal.

What you’ll need

Approximately 30 minutes total time

Lg frying pan

1 ½ lb boneless skinless chicken thighs

1 T smoked paprika

8 cloves of garlic unpeeled

¼ C sherry

½ C chicken broth

1 bay leaf

2 T chopped parsley

2 T olive oil

Pinch of S & P

First off combine thighs and paprika and S & P in a bowl to coat. Once again, smoked paprika is something worth keeping on hand as it is awesome.

Then heat 1T oil in the frying pan over high heat and cook garlic cloves for 3-4 minutes until nice and brown. You didn’t peel those suckers did ya? No? Good, the skins are extremely difficult to get back on. Anyway, remove garlic and set aside.

Add remaining T of oil and sear the chicken until brown all over, about 5-7 minutes. Next add the sherry and boil for 30 sec, then add the stock and bay leaf. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 10 minutes.

While that’s happening, squeeze the pulp from the garlic skins and pound it with the parsley to make a paste. If you listened to my advice in a previous blog, now’s the time to break out that mortar and pestle. If you still don’t have one, you can use a small bowl and the back of a spoon. Stir the paste into the chicken, cover and simmer another 10 minutes until tender. That’s it, enjoy.