Recipe: Chicken Chorizo Stew with Dried Fruit

Smoky Salty Tangy Spicy Sweet

I don’t eat meat very often, and cook it even less.  This is in part because it’s the healthy/ethical thing to do, but also because I generally find vegetables to be much more interesting and compelling than meat — unless the meat is an expertly prepared suckling pig, in which case… give it to me!

When I do eat or cook meat, I have pretty high standards.   I expect the meat to have a lot of flavor, not just add protein heft to a dish.  In fact, most often when I’m cooking with meat I’m actually adding it as a condiment in order to add a flavor layer to another dish.  Here, I’m using chorizo to flavor chicken in a Spanish-inspired stew.

Cooking the chicken in the sauce with the chorizo ensures that the flavors penetrate it perfectly.  The combination of chorizo, tomato, dried fruit and wine creates a wonderful contrast of smoky, spicy, tangy, salty and sweet.

In this case I used raisins for the dried fruit because it was what I had on hand, but I actually recommend using dates if you can find them.

Recipe: Chicken Chorizo Stew with Dried Fruit

Ingredients:

4-5 chicken drumsticks or thighs (I leave the skin on, but you can do as you please)
1 link (3 to 4 oz) chorizo, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup raisins or dates
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 pinch crushed red pepper (optional)
1 14-oz can tomato puree
1/3 cup red wine
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium- high heat.  Once the oil is hot, add the chicken pieces and cook, turning occasionally, until outside is golden brown (6-8 minutes).  Once the chicken is brown, remove from the pot and set aside. (The goal is not to cook the chicken in this step, as it will get added back later with the tomato and other ingredients).

Do not clean the pot (yet)! Using the same pot and the same oil (but adding more olive oil if necessary), add the onion and the garlic and sauté until translucent (3-4 minutes).  Next add the chorizo and cook until slightly brown, (2-3 minutes).

Add the dried fruit, bay leaf, oregano, and red pepper if desired.  Slowly, add the crushed tomato.  Very important to add this little by little — approx. 1/4 cup at a time, then cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly — and allow to reduce after each time.  This thickens the sauce and deepens the flavor.  Add the wine, then give it a taste and correct for seasoning with salt and pepper.

Add the browned chicken to the pot and give it a stir to ensure it is well coated with the sauce.  Put a lid on the pot and reduce the heat to low.  Allow to simmer for 20 minutes.