CHICKEN IN GARLIC SAUCE

Pollo al ajillo is something I’d often have as a kid. But it’s not just for children: for me, this is the quickest and best way to cook chicken. The flavours are balanced: there is acidity and freshness from the lemon and parsley that are added at the last minute, and a slight kick from the chillies. It’s versatile too: it makes perfect finger food, or you could add some salad and bread on the side to make it more of a main. The sauce that is created from the chicken juices and oil is made for dipping, so bread – as always – is important.

A wok isn’t Spanish, obviously, but it’s good for cooking this recipe, as you need to keep everything moving, and with a wok the oil stays in the pan. Even my mum has a little wok!

FOR 4

80ml extra virgin olive oil

1 chicken, about 1–1.2kg, jointed, then cut into 50p size pieces (or 1–1.2kg thighs/legs/breasts) – skin on

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

16 cloves of garlic, skin on, smashed with the back of a knife

2 fresh red chillies, sliced in half lengthways (keep the seeds)

2 bay leaves

zest and juice of 2 lemons

1 bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley (approx. 50g), roughly chopped

Put the olive oil into a wok or a large frying pan on a medium heat. When smoking, add the chicken to the pan and season a little. Cook, tossing, until every part of the chicken gets really caramelized and golden brown (this should take around 12–15 minutes) and the skin is very crisp.

Halfway through this time – so, after about 6 minutes – add the smashed garlic. When the garlic starts to get a little golden, add the chillies and bay leaves. Cook for a minute, keeping everything moving in the pan, then add the lemon zest and juice, with the parsley.

Take off the heat, season to taste, and serve.