Chicken in Sherry Sauce

Ah... sherry, beloved of Grandmas... boring eh?  NO!  Sherry rocks!  Forget your thoughts of cream sherries of your Grandma, it is a delicious fortified wine which can take you from deliciously dry and crisp Finos and Manzanillas, fantastic with tapas to Pedro Ximenez which is delicious as a dessert wine.  My favourite is those labelled as Solera taking some of the citrus fruitiness of Palomino with the sweetness of Pedro Ximenez.

So anyway... try it, I urge you.  A bit more about sherry at the end for those of you keen to learn more.

But in the meantime, sherry is often used in cooking in Spain but it's not normal to use the sweeter sherries in savoury dishes.  This was an invention of mine which might sound strange but it is delicious.  Imagine the stunning sweetness and depth of flavour of roasted onions and then you're getting the idea.

Chicken in Sherry Sauce - Serves 2 but reheats well (leftovers great for making work colleagues jealous)

Ingredients

250g, 9oz Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
100g, 4oz Mushrooms
2 Cloves of garlic, chopped.
1.5 tbsp Pedro Ximenez (or other sweeter sherry of your choice)
4 tbsp Double cream (heavy cream)
1/2 tin, approx 120g / 4oz (drained weight) of Borlotti beans

Method

Cut the chicken thighs into two or three pieces (if very large) and dry fry in a non stick pan until browned.  Put into a shallow, oven proof baking dish and preheat the oven to 400F, 200oC, Gas mark 6.

Thickly slice the mushrooms and fry in the remaining chicken fat in the frying pan, after a minute or so, add the chopped garlic, stir for a minute or so then add in the sherry and bubble for a few seconds before pouring into the baking dish.  Add the cream and beans to the dish coating the chicken and bake for 25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through, caramelised and the sauce is thick.

Season and serve with green vegetables.

Back to sherry.  Sherry is named after Jerez (which when you realise is pronounced hairez, makes you realise where the name "sherry" came from).  Sherry dominates the small town (along with food and generally having a good time, after all, this is Spain) and it's a bit wrong not to visit one of the excellent bodegas while you're there.

I've visited Gonzalez Byass which was a delicious and heady experience, not just because of the tasting at the end.

It's great looking at the signatures of my fellow (but famous) sherry fans who have visited before.

The great thing about the tour was a tasting starting from the bone dry leading to the syrupy sweet.  There genuinely is a sherry for everyone.

I've not been sponsored to write this post, I just love sherry.