Pollo al Ajillo (Spanish Garlic Chicken) & Rice

📝 Ingredients

• 800 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs (8 pieces of about 100 g each)
• 12 garlic cloves (about 60 g)
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 chicken stock cube + 250 ml hot water
• 1 lemon (for the juice)
• 15 g fresh parsley
• 280 g long-grain rice
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large sauté pan
• Saucepan
• Colander
• Wooden spoon
• Cutting board and knife
• Citrus juicer

📖 Steps

1. Take the chicken out of the fridge 15 min before cooking and pat it dry thoroughly with kitchen paper: if it's damp, it will boil instead of browning. Cut the largest pieces in half, then season with salt and pepper on all sides.
2. Lightly crush each garlic clove with the flat of a knife without peeling it, just enough to split the skin: this is garlic “en chemise” (in its jacket), which turns soft and confit-like without burning. Squeeze the lemon, dissolve the stock cube in the hot water and add the juice.
3. Rinse the rice in a sieve under cold water until the water runs almost clear. Cook it in a large pan of salted boiling water for 10 to 12 min (according to the packet), drain and keep warm, covered.
4. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken without overlapping the pieces (in 2 batches if needed) and leave to brown for 5 min without touching it, until it releases on its own, then turn and brown for 4 min on the other side.
5. Reduce to a medium-low heat, return all the chicken to the pan and tuck the garlic cloves and bay leaves between the pieces. Cook for 8 min, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is golden and tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. If it starts to blacken, lower the heat: burnt garlic turns bitter.
6. Pour the lemony stock into the pan and scrape the bottom with the wooden spoon to loosen the caramelised bits: they're what gives the sauce its flavour.
7. Simmer uncovered for 10 to 12 min over a medium heat, turning the chicken halfway through, until the sauce has reduced by half and coats the spoon, and the chicken juices run clear when pierced in the thickest part.
8. Remove the bay leaves, finely chop the parsley and scatter it over the chicken. Serve with the rice, drizzled with sauce. At the table, everyone squeezes the soft garlic cloves out of their skins and spreads them over the meat: they're mellow and melting.