Chef Isabel
Ànec amb Peres
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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Pollo al Chilindrón
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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.
Main Dishes
Spanish
Comfort Food
Weeknight
One Pot
25 min
Active Time
1 hr 30 min cook•1 hr 55 min total
Yield4 to 6 servings
Pollo al chilindrón is Aragonese, a chicken braise from the middle Ebro country where sweet peppers, tomato and little batons of jamón turn the pan juices into a deep red sauce. Its surname is the sauce: chilindrón means the peppers and tomato have been cooked down around the meat, not simply tipped over it. This is family food built in one cazuela, rich without being heavy.
The method that decides it is the sofrito, the slow vegetable base. Brown the chicken and lift it out, then give the onion and peppers time to collapse, darken and turn sweet before the tomato goes in. Crowd the pan or hurry them over fierce heat and they stay watery and sharp, so the finished sauce never clings. The Margin beside mine says only: "los pimientos primero," the peppers first.
Far from Aragón, use canned whole peeled tomatoes when fresh ones are pale and hard. You lose a little fresh brightness, but gain dependable body. An unsmoked dry-cured ham such as prosciutto can replace jamón serrano; it gives the necessary salt and fat, though the cured flavor will be gentler. No hace falta haber pisado España. Follow the weights and wait until oil shows at the edge of the sofrito, and it comes out right.
Chilindrón is rooted in Aragón and the middle Ebro valley, a pepper-and-tomato braise also known across neighbouring Navarra and La Rioja. Chicken is the best-known Aragonese version, though lamb and rabbit are also cooked in the sauce; the batons of cured ham connect the pan to the matanza, the household pig slaughter, and to the jamones of Teruel. The dish reflects the region's summer vegetable harvest, cooked down until modest pieces of meat became a full family meal.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
bone-in, skin-on chicken
Quantity
1.5kg
cut into 8 pieces
fine sea salt
Quantity
8g, divided
plus more only after tasting
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1g
olive oil
Quantity
45ml
jamón serrano
Quantity
100g
cut into short 5mm batons
onion
Quantity
300g
thinly sliced
red bell peppers
Quantity
450g
deseeded and cut into 1cm strips
green bell pepper
Quantity
180g
deseeded and cut into 1cm strips
garlic
Quantity
15g
finely chopped
dry white wine
Quantity
150ml
ripe tomatoes
Quantity
600g
halved and grated, skins discarded
canned whole peeled tomatoes (optional)
Quantity
500g
crushed by hand; use instead of fresh tomatoes
water
Quantity
100ml
dried bay leaf
Quantity
1
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| bone-in, skin-on chickencut into 8 pieces | 1.5kg |
| fine sea saltplus more only after tasting | 8g, divided |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1g |
| olive oil | 45ml |
| jamón serranocut into short 5mm batons | 100g |
| onionthinly sliced | 300g |
| red bell peppersdeseeded and cut into 1cm strips | 450g |
| green bell pepperdeseeded and cut into 1cm strips | 180g |
| garlicfinely chopped | 15g |
| dry white wine | 150ml |
| ripe tomatoeshalved and grated, skins discarded | 600g |
| canned whole peeled tomatoes (optional)crushed by hand; use instead of fresh tomatoes | 500g |
| water | 100ml |
| dried bay leaf | 1 |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide heavy casserole with lid, 28 to 30cm
- •Kitchen tongs
- •Box grater for fresh tomatoes
- •Instant-read thermometer
Instructions
- 1
Season the chicken
Pat the chicken dry. Season it all over with 6g of the salt and the black pepper, keeping the remaining 2g for the vegetables. Dry skin browns; wet skin sticks and goes pale, so don't skip the cloth or kitchen paper.
- 2
Brown the chicken
Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy casserole over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken in two batches so the pieces have room, starting skin-side down for 5 to 6 minutes, then turning for another 2 to 3 minutes. You want a deep golden surface, not cooked meat. Lift each batch onto a plate and keep every drop of juice.
If the chicken refuses to release from the pan, leave it another minute. Once properly browned, it lets go with very little persuasion. - 3
Cook the jamón
Lower the heat to medium. Add the jamón and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, just until its fat turns glossy and scents the oil. Don't crisp it hard or it becomes leathery during the braise. Lift it out and leave it with the chicken.
- 4
Soften peppers slowly
Add the onion, both peppers and the remaining 2g salt to the casserole. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook for 18 to 20 minutes, stirring and scraping up the browned chicken juices. The vegetables must collapse, lose their raw wetness and begin to catch dark gold at the edges. This slow cook is where the sauce finds its sweetness. Rush it and the peppers stay sharp, however long the chicken braises later.
If the browned juices threaten to burn before the peppers release their liquid, add 15ml from the measured water and scrape the base clean. - 5
Build the sofrito
Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the wine, raise the heat to medium and simmer for about 3 minutes, until reduced by half. Add the grated or crushed tomato and the bay leaf. Cook uncovered for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until the sofrito, the slow vegetable base, is thick enough that a spoon drawn through it leaves a trail and small beads of oil appear around the edge.
- 6
Braise in stages
Return the thighs, drumsticks and wings to the casserole with their juices. Add the remaining water, bring the sauce to a gentle simmer and cover with the lid slightly ajar. Cook for 10 minutes, then add the breast pieces and jamón. Continue at a quiet simmer for 18 to 22 minutes, turning the pieces once, until the breasts reach 74°C at their thickest point and the dark meat is tender. A knife pushed beside a thigh bone should meet no resistance.
- 7
Finish the sauce
Remove the lid. If the sauce still runs like soup, lift out any breast pieces already done and simmer the sauce for 3 to 5 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon. Return the chicken, taste and add salt only if it needs it. Jamón has already done much of that work.
- 8
Rest and serve
Take the casserole off the heat and rest it for 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf, spoon the peppers and jamón over the chicken and serve from the same pan with bread for the sauce. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Chef Tips
- •Use bone-in chicken with its skin. The bones give the sauce body, while the skin protects the meat through browning and braising. Boneless breast cooks before the peppers have had time to become themselves.
- •Choose red peppers that feel heavy and firm, with glossy skins. If fresh peppers are poor, use 350g well-drained jarred roasted red peppers and add them after the onion has softened. The sauce will be sweeter and softer, with less fresh pepper bite.
- •Use canned whole peeled tomatoes outside tomato season. Drain off only very watery packing liquid, crush the fruit by hand and cook it until oil beads at the edge. Pésalo, no lo adivines.
- •If jamón serrano is unavailable, use an unsmoked dry-cured ham such as prosciutto. Smoked ham changes the whole pan and hides the peppers, so leave it at the shop.
- •A young Garnacha or Cariñena from Aragón suits the sweet peppers and cured ham. At the table, plain bread, fried potatoes or white rice are enough; the sauce has already done the talking.
- •Leftovers keep for 3 days in the refrigerator. Reheat gently with 30 to 45ml water so the sauce loosens without becoming salty.
Advance Preparation
- •Slice the onion and peppers and grate the tomatoes up to 24 hours ahead. Refrigerate them in separate covered containers so the tomato doesn't soften the peppers.
- •The complete dish can be cooked 1 day ahead. Cool it within 2 hours, cover and refrigerate; the peppers and jamón settle into the sauce overnight.
- •Reheat covered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, adding 30 to 45ml water if the sauce has set thick. Bring the chicken to 74°C before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 420g)
Calories
540 calories
Total Fat
35 g
Saturated Fat
9 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
24 g
Cholesterol
140 mg
Sodium
1000 mg
Total Carbohydrates
16 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
9 g
Protein
39 g
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