Traditionally made with rabbit, this classic dish of the Canary Islands adapts well to chicken. Rasa Strankauskaite, wine director at La Laguna Gran Hotel in San Cristóbal de La Laguna on the island of Tenerife, says, “By marinating the meat for a whole day, it ends up with a texture and flavor almost similar to a very light pickle.”
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Pollo al Salmorejo Canario
Ingredients
2 ½ cups dry white wine
½ cup white or red wine vinegar
8 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon smoked paprika (pimentón)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
½ teaspoon cayenne
1 whole chicken, cut into
10 serving pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
Chopped parsley, for garnish
Instructions
In a blender, place 1 cup of the wine, the vinegar, garlic, bay leaf, paprika, cumin, thyme, oregano, salt and cayenne. Blend until smooth.
Place chicken in a bowl and add the blender mixture. Stir to coat well, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
When ready to cook, remove chicken from marinade, reserving liquid, and pat dry. Heat olive oil in a deep skillet or wide Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken, skin side down, in a single layer (working in batches if necessary). Cook until deep golden brown anywhere there is skin and remove to a platter.
Add the reserved marinade with the remaining 1 1/2 cups wine, scraping up any browned bits in the pot. Return chicken to pot, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until the thickest chicken pieces are cooked through (165°F on a meat thermometer).
Remove chicken to a serving platter and bring pan juices to a boil. Cook uncovered until it thickens to a light sauce consistency, which should only take a few minutes. Add salt, if needed. Pour over chicken to coat and serve immediately; garnish with parsley.
Wine Pairing
“The trick of this pairing is to bring together two elements that have been macerated for a while and are therefore doubly tasty, intense and deep,” says Strankauskaite. “Skin-contact [white] wines—which we call vinos brisados—from the Albillo Criollo grape are aromatic wines with body. They’re delicate but opulent, almost balsamic with soft tannins and endless versatility. When the wine and the food each have so much character, it’s a rollercoaster on the taste buds and a warm hug from the Canary Islands.”
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Fun Fact
Papas arrugadas (wrinkled potatoes) are new potatoes boiled in salt (or sea) water until tender, then drained and cooked dry until the skins wrinkle. They’re a typical accompaniment to this dish. “We have 29 potato varieties in the Canary Islands that are protected by a Denomination of Origin, Papas Antiguas de Canarias,” says Strankauskaite. “They’re really special potatoes, each with unique flavors—from corn to chestnuts—that come from our varied volcanic soils.”
This article originally appeared in the Winter 2024 issue of Wine Enthusiast magazine. Click here to subscribe today!
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The post This Wine-Marinated Chicken Is a Canary Islands Specialty appeared first on Wine Enthusiast.
