Sangria chicken

This dish gets its name (“Sangria”) because of the inclusion of citrus fruit in the cooking (as they would be put in a sangria punch).  These flavours go extremely well with the chicken and produce a delightful dish.

Preparation Time: 15 Mins

Cooking Time: 50 Mins

Total Time: 65 Mins

Ingredients

For 6 servings…

2                    Onions  - red - cut into wedges 

2 cloves            Garlic  - unpeeled     

1                    Orange      

2                    Peppers  - cut into 2 cm wide slices        

1                    Lemon  - sliced        

4 sprigs            Rosemary  - leaves    

1 stick             Cinnamon  

20                   Olives  - green, pitted and halved          

2 tsp               Capers      

¼ tsp              Chilli flakes

9                    Chicken thighs  - skin on and bones in     

                     Pepper  - freshly ground, black 

                     Salt          

                     Olive oil    

175 ml             Wine  - red 

1 tbs               Vinegar  - Sherry      

2 tbs               Honey  - runny        

Method

Heat an oven to 180°C.

Place the onions in a large roasting tray.

Crush the garlic cloves slightly in their skin.  Use a vegetable peeler to pare off two wide strips of orange zest.  Cut half of the orange into wedges (keeping the other half for later).  Add them all to the roasting tray with the red peppers, the sliced lemon, rosemary leaves, cinnamon stick, olives, capers and chilli flakes.

Add the chicken to the tray, season generously with salt and black pepper and drizzle everything with olive oil.  Massage everything together, then reposition the chicken on top of the fruit and vegetables, skin-side up.  Sprinkle with a little more salt.  Pour the red wine into the base of the roasting tray along with the vinegar and the juice of the remaining orange half.

Place the tray in the oven and cook for 45 minutes, or until the chicken skin is crispy and the wine has reduced significantly.  If the wine looks like it is reducing away entirely, add a splash more.  Drizzle everything with honey then return to the oven for another five minutes to caramelise.

Serve with rice or bread and a leafy green salad.

Wine recommendations

A robust red wine.

Conventional

     Côtes du Rhône

     Rioja

Interesting

     Côtes du Luberon

     Lirac

     Ventoux