Easy Spanish Chicken Stew with Chorizo

Spanish chicken and Chorizo Stew in a white bowl.

4.95 from 34 votes

Easy Spanish Chicken Stew with Chorizo

This traditional Spanish chicken stew is a one-pot comfort dish featuring chicken thighs slow-braised in a velvety tomato sauce of white wine, oregano, cumin, thyme and paprika. It gets an extra hit of deep, rich flavour from garlic-rich chorizo and briny, green olives.

Usually served with fluffy white rice, this easy chicken stew (or pollo guisado Guatemalteco as it's known in Guatemala) goes great with thick slices of crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

Prep Time10

Cook Time35

Total Time45

Course: Main

Cuisine: Guatemalan, Latin American, Spanish

Servings:

Calories: 382kcal

Author: Michele Peterson

Cost: $10

Equipment

1 Braising pan with lid

Ingredients

5 oz chorizo sausage fully cooked, cured sausage
2 Tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
6 chicken thighs skin on, boneless
¼ cup white wine dry
1 onion peeled and sliced
3 garlic cloves peeled and minced
1 teaspoon oregano dried
1 teaspoon pimenton – Spanish paprika powder preferably smoked
½ teaspoon cumin ground
⅛ teaspoon cayenne or pimentón de padron (Spanish hot pepper powder)
½ teaspoon thyme
14 oz chopped tomatoes
1 cup water or chicken stock
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon if not using chicken stock
1 teaspoon honey
15 green olives pitted
⅛ tsp sea salt to taste
⅛ freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes optional

Instructions

Remove casing from chorizo (if necessary). Cut chorizo into slices.
Heat a large braising pan with oil on medium heat. Brown the chorizo for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let the chorizo release a bit of juice and fat.
Trim excess fat and skin from the boneless chicken thighs.
Add the chicken thighs, skin down and cook for about 2-3 minutes. When the skin is browned, flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Remove chorizo and chicken from the pan and set aside.
Add the white wine and deglaze the pan by scraping the browned bits with a wooden spoon.
In the same pan, add the chopped and sliced onion and garlic. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for about 2 minutes.
Add oregano, paprika, cumin, thyme and cayenne pepper. Stir all together.
Pour in the chopped tomatoes, water and chicken stock into the braising plan. Increase heat and bring to a low boil.
Transfer chicken thighs back into the casserole with the chorizo. Cover and bring to a simmer. Cook for 25 minutes or until tender.
Remove the cover and add honey and olives. Stir then cover and allow olives to heat through.
Add freshly ground black pepper and adjust salt. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes (if desired)
Serve with fluffy white rice and slices of thick-crust bread.

Notes

Make sure you use smoked paprika which is different from regular paprika. It adds a unique flavour that you don't want to skip.

Use green olives without the pits or pimento.

Taste before adding salt. If using bouillon rather than chicken broth, watch the salt you add as it often contains higher amounts of salt.

If you use bone-in chicken thighs, increase the cooking time by 15 minutes.

Want to skip the chorizo? Swap it out with garbanzo beans. Just drain a can of garbanzo beans (or cook from scratch in advance), then add during the last 10 minutes of cooking and cook until warm.

Want to add some cooked artichoke hearts as a special twist? Drain the artichokes, nestle them in the tomato sauce, and allow them to warm during the last 10 minutes of cooking.

Nutritional information is created by online calculators so the figures are only estimates.

Nutrition