Chicken Sobrasada

A popular dish from the islands of Mallorca and Menorca that spread to the mainland and even to the UK, where chefs Rick Stein and Delia Smith have their own version. My pal Ian Giles, himself an excellent cook and serious foodie, put his  touch to it and tells me that the end result was delicious,. I believe him.

Servings 4

 

Cook:

30 mins

Prep. time:

30 minutes

Difficulty:

Moderate.

Ingredients

  • 8 whole chicken legs skin scored

  • 100g dried butter beans, soaked overnight (or 225g butter beans from a tin or  jar, drained and rinsed) 

  • 300ml tomato sauce (see below) 

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil 

  • 1 teaspoon of finely chopped fresh green chilli 

  • 75g sobrasada, sliced (or good quality chorizo)

  • 350g courgettes, trimmed and sliced diagonally 

  • 3 bay leaves

  • 1 large carrot chopped

  • 1 stick of clery chopped

  • a small handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped 

  • salt and freshly ground black pepper 

    For the tomato sauce 

    6 tablespoons olive oil 

    2 large cloves of garlic, thinly sliced 

    2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes (or 1kg fresh ripe tomatoes) 

    salt and freshly ground black pepper 

     

     

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1

  • Make the tomato sauce. Gently heat the olive oil, add the garlic and cook until  just colouring. Tip in the chopped tomatoes and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes  until thickened. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Step 3

  • Add the butter beans and tomato sauce, re-cover and place in a preheated oven 180C for a further 15 minutes until the beans are heated through and you have a rich thick sauce.

Step 2

  • Season the chicken legs on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil  in a large sauté pan. Add the chicken, skin side down, and cook for 5 minutes  over a medium heat until golden brown. Turn over and cook for another 5  minutes. Remove the chicken to the side of the pan and add the chilli and sobrasada, and allow the sobrasada to melt into the oil. 

    Turn the chicken over in the now spicy oil until well coated, then reduce the  heat, place in an oven dish. 

Step 4

  • Serve in the cooking dish and scatter with chopped parsley and serve. 

  • Open a decent bottle of Ribera del Duero or A Rioja Crianza.

  • Buen Provecho