CHICKEN IN SPANISH RECIPE

Steps:

• Place chicken in a large slow cooker. Pour in enough boiling water to completely cover the chicken, and add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover, and set slow cooker to HIGH. Cook until the chicken meat turns white.
• Add the peppers and onions. Simmer until peppers and onions get a little tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, chili sauce, and ketchup. Cover, set slow cooker to LOW, and cook for about 6 hours.

Steps:

• First, make the sauce in which the chicken will be cooked (this – and indeed the whole dish – can be done several hours in advance): In a 12-inch skillet or sauté pan over medium-low heat, warm 3 Tablespoons olive oil and sauté the chorizo until it has browned lightly and has released some of its fat and seasonings into the skillet, about 4 to 5 minutes.
• Add the onion and garlic, sprinkle with salt and continue to sauté until these have softened, about five minutes. Add the bell pepper and cook for another couple of minutes until it begins to soften. Add the pimentón and stir for about 30 seconds.
• Add the rosemary, parsley and tomatoes and continue to cook, stirring regularly, until the tomatoes have reduced and intensified in flavor, about four to six minutes. At this stage the sauce should be slightly pulpy in consistency; the pimentón will absorb some liquid thicken the mixture.
• Raise the heat to medium high; add the wine and cook down until it no longer smells raw, about two minutes. Add the chicken stock and the olives, bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer for two or three minutes; check for salt and pepper. This sauce will not taste complete: once the chicken has cooked in it and it has reduced, it will acquire the extra dimension it needs. Pour the sauce into a bowl or other container and wash the pan (unless you want to use a fresh one to cook the chicken). Fat will rise to the surface; try not to yield to the temptation to skim it off: it’s delicious.
• When it is time to cook the chicken, heat the oven to 350º F. If cooking right away, heat the oven before starting the sauce.
• Dry the chicken pieces thoroughly; season them with salt and pepper.
• Over medium-high heat, warm the clean 12-inch skillet or sauté pan (or a fresh one). When it is hot, add 2 Tablespoons olive oil and when it, in turn, is hot add the chicken, skin-side down. Press it lightly with your fingers to make sure the skin is in contact with the hot pan. Leave it alone for five to seven minutes, or until the skin is golden (this is for flavor, not crunch, because subsequent cooking will obliterate the crispness). Turn the leg pieces and continue to brown, leaving the breast pieces skin side down. Remove the breast pieces after two minutes or so and put them on a plate.
• Continue to brown the leg pieces for another couple of minutes, then add the sauce mixture. Return the breast pieces to the pan, skin side up. Once the sauce has come to the boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer over low heat for 10 to 12 minutes, until the breast meat is tender when pierced with a cake tester or skewer. Remove the breast pieces and continue to cook the leg meat for another 10 minutes or so – also until tender when pierced.
• Return the breast pieces to the pan, simmer for another minute, and check for seasoning. You can add some additional chopped parsley before serving; that’s unlikely to be necessary in terms of flavor, but it will look nice. I didn’t bother.
• Serve with rice. I made a simple pilaf with a small onion and a quarter pound of mushrooms. If you didn’t feel like making rice, you could grill slices of good sourdough bread and pass those around: great for mopping up the delicious sauce.