Sherry Chicken

This weekend, I decided to prepare one of my favorite Spanish dishes, Pollo al Jerez, or Sherry Chicken. If you like chicken, onions, mushrooms and the taste of basil, this dish might be the right one for you!

Here’s what you will need:

1. Chicken (I used 2 chicken breasts cut into 2 inch squares. You can use legs, drumsticks and leave the skin on, I didn’t because I wanted to cut the fat)
2. 2-3 medium sized yellow onions. (I used two since I’m only making enough for two)
3. Mushrooms (I used a whole box about 2-3 cups worth since I love mushrooms)
4. Butter
5. Flour (I used whole wheat flour, makes the sauce darker tho)
6. Bay leaves
7. Glass of Sherry wine.
8. Olive Oil (You can use veggy oil, but olive tastes better in my opinion)
9. Salt
10. Parsley (Dried is fine, but fresh is preferred)

You will need at a pan, pot, or a fairly deep pan that can fill all the ingredients together. Make sure they all have lids.

Preparing the Chicken

If you chose to use chicken breast, you will need to cut them into smaller pieces, I cut mine into 2″ squares. Next pour some olive oil (about 5-6 tablespoons, depending on how much chicken you have) in a pan and cook the chicken until its golden-brown on both sides.

Once they are browned, place each piece into a pot and cover it. You need to keep it covered so the chicken stays warm while you make the sauce. Make sure you don’t pour all the juices and oil into the pot (just want the chicken), you’ll need the oil for next step.

Making the Sauce

Cut the onions into rings get about 2-3 tablespoons of butter (you can use oil as a substitute if you don’t have butter). In high heat, add the butter, the onions and gently stew them in the leftover oil used to brown the chicken. Add in a tablespoon flour and slowly pour in a glass of Sherry wine while mixing the contents in the pan.

Do this for about 1 minute (it should turn into a thick sauce) and pour everything into the pot where you placed the chicken; add some bay leaves (1-2 is enough), add salt to taste, cover and bring to boil. Lower the heat to about “medium-low” and simmer for about 30 minutes, adding water when necessary.

While everything is cooking, cut the mushrooms into fours and sautéed them in some olive oil for a couple minutes. This will be added 5 minutes before the casserole is ready.

Once everything is cooked, sprinkle some parsley and you’re done! I personally like to have this served over rice since the sauce gets absorbed into the rice, making it rather tasty.