Recipe: Walking Spanish Down the Hall Chicken Thighs

Back to the Zeitgeist. There are a couple of inside jokes in the name of this recipe. One of which is that “Walking Spanish” is the title of a Tom Waits song. And another is a reference to my friend Josh Ferris’s book “Then We Came to the End.” Believe me it all comes together.

For this very easy recipe you will need chicken thighs including the skin and the bones. Don’t wimp out with skinless, boneless, taste free stuff aka chicken thighs lite. This is a braised dish and you will need those bones. The other key ingredient is good Spanish pimenton aka paprika. I prefer the “ahumado” meaning smoked. It’s easy to order on line from Tienda or The Spanish Table.

4 Chicken thighs
1/3 cup superfine flour such as Wondra
1 tbs pimenton
3 cloves garlic sliced
1 medium onion thinly sliced
2 tbs olive oil or enough to cover the bottom of your dutch oven
1/3 small olives (leave the pits in)
6 small white potatoes thinly sliced*
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
½ cup red wine
½ tsp thyme, fresh if available from your garden
Zest of one orange
Salt and pepper

In a dish or pie pan add the flour and pimenton, then with a fork mix together
Pat dry the chicken thighs and dredge them. Season with salt and set aside
In your Dutch (or French if you are of that persuasion) oven add the olive oil and heat over medium
When the oil begins to ripple a bit add the garlic first and then the onions long enough to give them some color.

Add the chicken thighs. Turn up the heat to medium high and brown the thighs two at a time and set aside.

Off heat, spoon off most of the remaining oil and fat. And return pan to the burner.
Add the red wine and reduce by half using a spatula or wooden spoon to scrape up the good stuff off the bottom and then return the thighs to your dutch oven.
Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer covered. Then add the olives and thyme .
After about ten minutes add the potatoes and recover. That means put the cover back on.
Total cooking time is about 30 minutes but check with a knife or better yet an instant read thermometer. Season with salt and pepper and add the orange zest.

Taste and serve.

Note: about the olives; I leave the pits in. My guests know that olives have pits. They also know how to fasten their seat belt on an airplane without watching an instructional video.

*A Kyocera adjustable ceramic slicer is great for this.

Don’t forget my “Walking Spanish Down the Hall Chicken Thighs.

I have to make Buffalo Wings sometime this summer.