Jose Andres’ Pollo Al Ajillo
His list of achievements is breathtaking.
He is a Michelin-starred chef with restaurants nationwide, an Emmy Award-winning TV host and producer, and a New York Times best-selling cookbook author. Moreover, he is the founder of the humanitarian nonprofit World Central Kitchen that provides emergency food to war-torn and natural disaster-stricken countries around the world, an endeavor that has garnered him a James Beard Foundation “Humanitarian of the Year,” and a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
All that’s missing is a Nobel Prize. And frankly, he deserves that, too.
Jose Andres’ impact on the culinary industry and the world at large has been monumental.
The Spanish-born chef has made his home with his family in Maryland for more than two decades. But his homeland remains a constant influence on all that he does.
His newest cookbook, “Spain My Way” (Ecco), of which I received a review copy, exemplifies that.
Written with Sam Chapple-Sokol, senior editorial director at Jose Andres Media, it’s a collection of recipes that touch on all facets of his life. There are classics that he grew up with, such as the summer tomato staple of “Gazpacho”; “Paella Valenciana” made with rabbit, chicken and beans; and “Pan de Cristal (Catalan ‘Glass’ Bread)” that’s crunchy, airy, and almost all crust. There are family-inspired ones such as “Croquetas de Pollo,” breadcrumb-rolled and fried fritters with the creamiest centers that are based on ones his mother made for the family at the end of the month when money was tight. And for the ambitious cook, there are modernistic recipes based on Andres’ time working in Ferran Adria’s seminal El Bulli in Spain, including “Liquid Olives” made by spherifying olive juice.
If you’re in the mood for Spanish comfort food, though, look no further than “Garlic Chicken (Pollo Al Ajillo).” It’s one of the easiest recipes in the book, and takes less than an hour to prepare.
As Andres describes: It’s home cooking at its best. Simple and soul-satisfying.
Just sear skin-on, bone-in chicken pieces in a large skillet on the stove-top. You can use a mix of parts or all chicken thighs as I did.
Deglaze the pan with Manzanilla or Fino sherry. Manzanilla is more heavy-bodied, with a saltier characteristic, along with green apple and bread notes. Fino is the lightest sherry, still characterized by salinity, along with the taste of toasted almonds.
Add a bay leaf and thyme leaves, along with chicken stock, and garlic heads that have been halved. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has reduced slightly.
The chicken cooks up moist and juicy with its own pan sauce that tastes deeply of poultry. In fact, it tastes as if you’ve reduced the essence of several chickens into that modest amount of amber-colored sauce.
Be sure to serve plenty of crusty bread with this dish, not only to mop up all that wonderful sauce, but to provide the perfect vehicle to enjoy those creamy, buttery tasting garlic cloves squeezed out of their skins.
The final touch? A nice little glass of sherry alongside.
Pollo Al Ajillo (Garlic Chicken)
(Serves 6 to 8)
3 pounds skin-on, bone-in chicken cut into pieces (wings, drumsticks, breasts, and thighs)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 heads garlic, split in half horizontally
1/2 cup sherry, preferably Manzanilla (or use Fino)
1 bay leaf
6 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 cup chicken stock
Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet or deep saute pan. Add the garlic heads, cut side down, and saute until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the garlic and set aside.
Increase the heat to high, add half the chicken to the pan, and saute until well browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken. Once all the chicken is well seared, add it back to the pan along with the garlic. Add the sherry and deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits, and add the bay leaf and thyme and simmer for 2 minutes, until the alcohol evaporates. Add the chicken stock, reduce the heat to medium, and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and the stock has reduced, about 15 more minutes. If any chicken pieces finish cooking before the rest, set them on a serving platter while remaining chicken cooks, then return the pieces to the pan.
Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir again to emulsify the sauce in the pan before serving.
From “Spain My Way” by Jose Andres
More: Brook’s Carrot Farro Salad from “The World Central Kitchen Cookbook”
Plus: Dining at Bazaar Meat by Jose Andres
