It is easy to dismiss chicken. In my lifetime is has shifted from expensive luxury to a commonplace commodity. However to me it still carries a touch of decadence. Diana Henry has dedicated an entire recipe book to the chicken. A Bird in the Hand
Last Sunday we cooked chicken with thyme and lemon served with garlic smashed potatoes from a recipe in this same book.
In Conil, roasted chicken isn’t so popular outside of the home. One of our friends has hated chicken from childhood and another looks down on it, although secretly her family really love it. Whilst it is possible to buy spit-roasted chicken from specialist “asadores” it is usually fried in bite-sized pieces “al ajillo” or in the gaditano favourite “pollo a la canilla” where the chicken is marinated in amontillado for 24 hours prior to frying with garlic. The chicken is cut in order to maximise the meat -to-bone ratio; each piece should contain some bone!
The Diana Henry recipe will travel with us to Spain!
