
Chef Isabel
Oca amb Peres
Oca amb peres is Catalonia's old festive goose braise: browned bird, firm winter pears, a patient sofregit and almond picada, with every spoonful of sauce skimmed clean enough to taste rich, never greasy.

Updated July 14, 2026
The farmyard birds of Spain in sauce, region by region: Castilian pepitoria, Aragonese chilindrón, Catalan duck with pears, Mallorcan escaldums and the stuffed Christmas capon.
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Chef Isabel
Oca amb peres is Catalonia's old festive goose braise: browned bird, firm winter pears, a patient sofregit and almond picada, with every spoonful of sauce skimmed clean enough to taste rich, never greasy.

Chef Isabel
Ànec amb peres is Catalan celebration cooking: duck braised in a dark sofregit, firm autumn pears added near the end, and an almond-garlic picada that turns the juices into a close, glossy sauce.

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Andalucía's almond chicken turns toasted nuts, fried bread, garlic, and slow-cooked onion into a silky sauce that clings to browned chicken, rich enough for Sunday and plain enough for home.

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Pavo relleno a la catalana brings botifarra, pork, prunes, apple, raisins and pine nuts to the Christmas table, with a hot start for bronze skin and a gentler roast that protects the breast.

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Catalonia braises chicken slowly with prunes, pine nuts and vi ranci, then stirs in a pounded picada so the fruit softens into a dark, glossy sauce without turning it sweet.

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Andalusian pollo al ajillo fries bone-in chicken deep gold, then finishes it with slowly browned garlic, bay and fino, leaving a sharp, glossy sauce made for bread.

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Pollo al chilindrón belongs to Aragón: browned chicken braised with jamón in peppers and tomato cooked dark and sweet, until the meat is tender and the sauce clings rather than runs.

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Murcia's Christmas guiso pairs bone-in turkey with large pork pelotas enriched by blanco sausage, egg and pine nuts, first browned, then gently finished in a saffron broth until tender.

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Castilla-La Mancha's chicken in escabeche is browned, then gently braised with wine vinegar, onion, garlic, bay and peppercorns, then rested a full day so its sharp liquor settles.

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Pitu de caleya is Asturias in a stewpot: a mature, outdoor-raised bird browned well, then held at the gentlest bubble in a dark onion sauce until its stubborn meat finally yields.

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Sevilla braises chicken with a dark, sweet onion base, dry white wine, almonds, and green olives added near the end, so the sauce turns silky and savory without taking on bitterness.

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Capón de Vilalba is Galicia's great Christmas bird, richly fattened, filled with pork, chestnuts, prunes and pine nuts, then roasted slowly with brandy until the flesh stays succulent beneath burnished skin.

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Asturias braises chicken with its dry natural cider, sweet onion, and tart apple. Brown the meat well, then reduce the cider until the sauce clings in a bright, glossy coat.

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Sevilla gives duck the treatment it deserves: brown the whole bird slowly, build the onion and carrot in its rendered fat, then braise it with dry sherry and green olives until the legs yield.

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Catalonia's mar i muntanya brings browned chicken and langoustines together in one cassola, with a slow, dark sofregit underneath and an almond picada binding the sauce at the end.

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Mallorca’s festive chicken stew, where sobrassada melts into the slow onion base, potatoes hold the sauce, and a finely ground almond picada turns the cooking juices glossy and full.

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Castile's golden chicken guiso gets its body from a fine majado of almonds, saffron, fried bread, and cooked egg yolk. Pound it smooth, then let it thicken the sauce gently.

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Castilla y León’s Christmas poulard, boned whole and packed with pork, jamón and black truffle, roasts slowly into a golden centrepiece that rests firm and carves into generous, tidy slices.
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