Pollo al Ajillo (Spanish Garlic Chicken)
A Spanish home classic: whole garlic cloves sizzled in olive oil, bone-in chicken pieces browned until golden and finished with white wine.
Method
Ask the butcher to chop the chicken through the bone into 4–5 cm pieces. Pat it thoroughly dry with kitchen paper, season all over with the salt and pepper and leave for 10 minutes. Damp skin won't turn golden.
Add in this stepChicken thighs and drumsticks, bone-in, cut into 4–5 cm pieces 600 gSalt ¾ tspBlack pepper 1 pinch
Leave the garlic unpeeled and crush each clove lightly with the flat of a knife; the skin stops it burning while the inside turns soft and sweet. Heat the olive oil in a wide 26 cm frying pan over medium heat and fry the garlic for , until golden in places, then lift it out onto a plate. Left in, it would turn bitter.
Add in this stepExtra-virgin olive oil 4 tbspGarlic cloves, unpeeled 10
medium heatLay the chicken skin-side down in a single layer in the garlicky oil and cook over medium-high heat for ; when the skin is deep golden, turn the pieces and brown them on all sides. If 3–4 servings don't fit in one layer, brown in two rounds: a crowded pan makes the chicken steam instead of fry.
medium-high heatLower the heat to medium-low heat, return the garlic and add the bay leaf and chilli. Cover and cook for , turning now and then. It is done when you cut the thickest piece to the bone and the juices run clear with no pink (75 °C or more in the centre). Always check: undercooked chicken can make you ill.
Add in this stepBay leaf 1Dried red chilli (optional) 1
medium-low heatUncover, raise the heat to high heat and pour in the wine. Scrape up the tasty browned bits from the bottom and shake the pan for , until the alcohol smell has gone and the wine has emulsified with the oil into a light sauce that coats the chicken.
Add in this stepDry white wine 100 ml
high heatTurn off the heat, scatter over the parsley, toss and leave for 2 minutes. Squeeze the soft garlic out of its skin and eat it with the chicken. Serve with crusty bread to mop up the pan juices, or with chips.
Add in this stepFlat-leaf parsley, chopped 2 tbsp
Cook's tip
If bone-in chicken feels daunting, use boneless thighs cut into large chunks and cut the step 4 time by a third. Dry fino sherry instead of wine tastes even more Spanish. Leave out the chilli for children.
Cooking it at camp
One burner and a wide cast-iron pan are all you need, so it cooks just the same at a campsite. Prep and season the chicken at home and keep it in the cooler at 4 °C or below; foil works instead of a lid. Camp burners concentrate heat in the centre, so move the pieces around often and always check they are cooked through.