sunday night chicken: the evolution of a family tradition

When I was growing up, eating chicken on Sunday night was a family tradition. It was tasty and it was cheap. Dad would put rosemary and garlic under the skin and roast it whole. Serving it with steamed broccoli and a baguette, he would brag, "This whole dinner cost $5!" Then he would pour us big glasses of red wine (we were old enough) and smile triumphantly at the pleasure he could give with such simple means.

We ate dinner at an antique, Baroque-style dinner table in the dining room. It was a beautiful but well-worn tabled with two chairs on each side and one on each end. Over the years, we must have set and cleared that table thousands of times. And the five of us, despite our differences, ate almost every dinner there. Though the meals were often chaotic, I enjoyed them and the ritual of eating together.

I still love eating big dinners together and cooking chicken on Sunday night. While dad favored simple, wholesome preparations, I enjoy experimenting with global ingredients.

This Catalan recipe, adapted from Diana Henry’s “Crazy Water and Pickled Lemons,” is one of my recent favorite Sunday night chicken dinners. The sauce is thickened with a paste called picada. Picada is a centuries-old thickener made with almonds, fried bread, white wine, and garlic. It’s blended together to form a paste used to thicken the sauce, similar to how the ancient Mexican cultures used sesame, almonds, and bread to thicken mole.

Sunday Night Catalan Chicken with Picada

Serves four

8 chicken thighs
salt and pepper
olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
15-ounce can chopped tomatoes (I prefer Muir Glen)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1-1/4 cups chicken stock
a few sprigs of thyme
1 ounce pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup raisins, soaked in warm, dry oloroso sherry until plump
a few sprigs of flat leaf parsley, chopped for garnish

For the picada
1 graham cracker
1 ounce country bread, fried in olive oil
1 ounce blanched almonds
5 tablespoons white wine
3 tables spoons olive oil

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a Dutch oven with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Brown the chicken about five minutes per side.

Remove the chicken and set it aside. Add the onion to the pan and cook until translucent. Add the tomato and garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Turn the heat down and gently cook the tomato mixture for another 15 minutes until it’s a thick puree. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Put the chicken back in the pan and any of the accumulated juices and add the thyme, pine nuts, and raisins. Turn the heat down and simmer for 25 minutes.

Make the picada by combining the bread, the cookie, the almonds, the white wine, and the olive oil in a blender until it forms a smooth paste.

Tip the picada into the chicken pan and stir everything together. Cook for another five minutes while the picada thickens the juices. Serve with chopped parsley and country bread.

Comments

[White on Rice Couple]

This looks so satisfying for Sunday dinner. I miss my family dinners. Everyone is always so busy and working and going to school. Sigh, can I come over to your family dinner?

[We Are Never Full]

Are graham crackers in the original recipe? I think they probably add a good, sweet flavor to the dish, but I can't imagine the centuries-old recipe utilized them. I'd be curious what they did use. This dish looks really, really delicious. The pine nuts are drawing me in! Also, we're obsessed w/ Spain so I think we'll have to remember this one!

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amy @ http://www.weareneverfull.com

[Angela]

Thanks, white on rice couple! BTW, I loved that video you did for Tony Bourdain! Nice work!

Amy: Graham crackers are included in the recipe in Diana's book, but I'm not sure what they would have used centuries ago. Great question! I'll look into that. If you're into Spanish cuisine, you're going to love this dish. I can't get enough!

[StickyGooeyCreamyChewy]

This looks like a wonderful dish! I love all of the different flavors going on in there. I can almost taste it now!

[Peter M]

Great looking dish and I'd bet it's Sicilian with the raisins in it.

[Angela]

Thanks, Susan and Peter! The raisins are amazing in this dish. They add just a touch of sweetness and are a perfect texture balance to the toasted pine nuts. I have made this dish so many times and I never get tired of it.