Spanish Style Chicken Thighs with Tomatoes and Garbanzo Beans

When I made this chicken, I made enough for two meals, and froze one for a timesaver another time. Once all the vegetable chopping was done, it was quick to put together, but I won't ever say no to having a ready made meal in the freezer.

The last 2 carrots, half a zucchini, a red pepper, half an onion, some chicken stock and half a can of tomato paste were the basis of this dish. I chose the Spanish style as I had a lot of paprika, some canned tomatoes and garbanzo beans, and the spiciness of it appealed to both me and my daughter. I realised that this also allowed me to ise up some more of the dry sherry that I bought for a recipe, and hardly ever use.

Get the chopping out of the way...

1/2 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
1/2 zucchini, quartered and sliced
1 red pepper, cut into 1/2" chunks
4 green onions, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced

Set the vegetables aside until needed.

On a plate, combine:

2 tablespoons Spanish paprika
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 tablespoon dried oregano

Dredge:

12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

in the spice mixture, coating all sides

Heat a large heavy bottomed pan. Add some olive oil. When it is almost smoking hot, add the chicken, and brown one side, allowing a golden crust to form before turning it to do the same on the other side.

Remove the chicken and set aside while you start cooking the vegetables.

In the same pan, but on a low heat, add the vegetables and a bit of olive oil if needed to prevent sticking. Season with salt and pepper.

Cover, and cook on a low heat until the vegetables start to soften slightly, about 10 minutes.

Add:

1/4 cup tomato paste

Cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes.

Add:

1/4 cup dry sherry

Cook, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove all the lovely browned bits. This is where all of the flavour is.

Return the browned chicken to the pan.

Drain and chop:

1 x 28oz can of roma tomatoes

Add these to the pot.

Add enough chicken stock to cover the chicken and vegetables.

Bring it to a boil; turn it down and simmer, covered, for an hour.

Drain and rinse:

1 can of garbanzo beans

Add half of the beans to the pot.

Continue to simmer, uncovered, until the chicken is fork tender. Taste and adjust seasoning.





Serve the chicken over rice. This served 3 people, with enough left for another 3 servings.

• I used a combination of white and green onions because when I started to chop the vegetables I found that I only had 1/2 onion, which wasn't enough. I do think that red onion would be nice in this recipe, as it is slightly milder.
• Other vegetables to consider using include: artichokes, green peppers, eggplant, olives, potatoes or squash.
• Add some frozen green peas just before serving.
• If you have chicken thighs with the bone in, allow extra time for cooking. If the skin is also on, you might want to consider removing it...it will crisp up nicely, but when the liquid is added the skin will lose its crispiness and develop a less appealing texture. 
• Serrano ham or chorizo (fresh or air dried) can also be added. Dice it and cook it after the chicken has been browned. Add the vegetables to the pan and continue with the recipe.
• I am the only one in the family that likes saffron. If this was not the case, I would have added a bit to the rice. This adds a lovely yellow-orange colour, as well as that distinctive taste. Saffron is very expensive, but only a very little is needed.
• This can be made with chicken drumsticks; pork or beef cuts that are suitable for stewing; prawns...these can be added back to the pot just before serving as they don't take long to cook.
• Water can be used if you have no chicken stock. The sherry can also be omitted; red wine could be used instead.