A Spanish invention, chorizo has become popular in recent years, with good reason. A spicy sausage with great depth of flavour, it imparts a beautiful reddish tinge to foods due to its high paprika content. And Spanish paprika is the biz; try and get your hands on some. In this recipe we combine chicken with tomatoes, chorizo, paprika, a dash of sherry and olives to produce a casserole of bold colour and intense flavour. This one is not for sissies!
1 pack chicken thighs or mixed thighs/drumsticks
60 ml Food Lover’s Signature Extra Virgin Olive Oil
10 ml strong paprika
2 onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
150 g Chourizo Sausage, sliced
1 can La Campagna Chopped Tomatoes
2 bay leaves
75 ml sherry (or chicken stock, if you prefer)
50 g Food Lover’s Calamata Olives
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Coat the chicken pieces in paprika and season. Heat olive oil in a pan and fry the chicken until browned.
Remove from heat and place in an ovenproof casserole dish. Add onion and garlic to the frying pan and cook until onion takes on colour; toss in the chourizo slices and fry for a couple of minutes.
Add the tomatoes, bay leaves and sherry (or chicken stock); heat until almost boiling. Pour tomato sauce over the chicken in the casserole and bake in a preheated oven, covered, at 180 deg C. Check after 45 minutes and if the chicken is cooked, add drained olives to the pot.
Serve with mashed or jacket potatoes.
