The Capsule Pantry: Taking Poultry Back to the 70s - Chicken in Oloroso Sherry Sauce
In defence of things served in alcoholic creamy sauces
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Beige food is the best food
I wasn’t alive in the 70s but if I was, I like to think I would have eaten chicken in a white wine sauce - or similar - every week. It might be passé, but that doesn’t make it any less delicious.
Luckily for me, I’m in the south of Spain right now, which hasn’t wholly moved with the times. And whilst walking past a restaurant the other night, I was reminded of a classic dish.
Chicken in Oloroso Sherry sauce.
Oloroso is a beautifully nutty, dry Sherry that is poured with abandon down this part of the world. In a dish like this, it can be substituted by many other alcoholic beverages from white wine to Vin Jaune to Vermouth to Madeira to Marsala. It just depends on what you have in your collection. This dish could be made with chicken or not. Cream or not. In other words, it’s perfect for a flexible Simple and Straightforward recipe.
As the weather cools off in much of the Northern Hemisphere (although it’s admittedly still warm here), this is the dish of your Sunday lunch dreams. I’ve included a bonus side dish too - marinated carrots or “zanahorias aliñadas.” They are served in every single tapas bar in my current town of Jerez and have been a revelation.
Olé! Vamos!
The original recipe
Serves 4
2 whole chicken legs jointed or 4 thighs / drumsticks, seasoned with salt and pepper.
3/4 medium white onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Oloroso sherry - approximately 1 cup / a couple of wine glasses worth.
Creme fraiche - approximately 4 generous tablespoons.
Salt and pepper to season
Heat olive oil on medium-high heat in a frying pan. Once hot, fry the chicken pieces until browned. Lift out and set aside.
Turn the heat down to medium and gently fry the onions for 5-8 minutes until softened but not browned.
Add the garlic and fry a few minutes longer.
Return the chicken to the pan. Pour in the Oloroso and turn down to a simmer.
Put a lid on the sauce and simmer until the chicken is cooked. Depending on the size of the pieces, this should take anything between 15-20 minutes, possibly longer.
My current apartment doesn’t have an oven but if it did, I would have put the chicken in a 180C / 350F oven to help with the cooking. Or you could do what I did and simmer the whole pieces for 10-15 minutes, take the pretty picture you see above then strip the chicken from the bones, chop it into bitesize pieces and return it to the sauce to finish cooking.
Add more sherry if the pan gets too dry.
Once the chicken is cooked, stir in the creme fraiche and season. Heat until simmering.
Serve with roasted, mashed or sauteed potatoes and this little humdinger of a side dish:
Zanahorias aliñadas (Andalucian dressed carrots)
Serves 4 as a side dish
Approx 6-8 carrots washed, peeled and cut into 1cm/half inch thick rounds
2 cloves garlic finely minced
Chopped parsley - a sprinkling of
1 tsp ground cumin
Sherry vinegar or lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil
Boil the carrots until soft - around 8-12 minutes. Drain and leave to cool.
Make the dressing by thoroughly mixing together all the other ingredients. Season with salt.
Dress the carrots with the dressing and leave in the fridge for as long as you have to marinade. Or serve straightaway.
Variations
The alcohol. Any kind of dry Sherry will work here - Fino, Oloroso, Amontillado, Manzanilla. You can also use white vermouth, white wine, Vin Jaune, dry white Port, Madeira or Marsala.
The chicken - pork works fantastically well here, as do mushrooms, aubergines, and courgettes. Mix and match or stick to purely meat or vegetables, it’s up to you.
The sauce - creme fraiche can be substituted for heavy cream, or stock, or omit altogether.