Gallina en pepitoria
Pepitoria is one of the oldest Castilian stews and an emblematic dish of Atienza cuisine: chicken, almonds, saffron, hard-boiled egg and white wine.
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- 90 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- Medium
What you need
- 1 free-range chicken, cut into pieces (about 1.8 kg)
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 100 g raw blanched almonds
- 200 ml dry white wine
- 500 ml chicken stock or water
- 3 hard-boiled eggs
- 1 teaspoon saffron threads
- Ground black pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Fresh chopped parsley
Step by step
- 01
Season the chicken pieces. In a deep pot, heat olive oil and brown the chicken on all sides over medium-high heat. Remove and set aside.
- 02
In the same oil, sauté the chopped onion with the bay leaves until translucent, about 10 minutes.
- 03
Add the whole garlic cloves and the almonds. Sauté 2 more minutes, stirring so the almonds brown slightly without burning.
- 04
Move the garlic and almonds to a mortar. Pound with the saffron to form a paste. Add a couple of tablespoons of stock to dilute.
- 05
Return the chicken to the pot. Pour in the white wine, raise the heat and let the alcohol evaporate for 3 minutes.
- 06
Add the almond paste and the remaining stock. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and cover.
- 07
Simmer gently for 1 hour to 1 hour and a half, until the chicken is tender. Stir occasionally.
- 08
Separate the whites from the hard-boiled eggs (reserve them) and add the yolks to the sauce, breaking them up with a fork. Cook 5 more minutes for the sauce to thicken.
- 09
Chop the egg whites and parsley. Serve the chicken hot, with the sauce on top and the white-and-parsley garnish sprinkled.
- Use stewing hen (not chicken): pepitoria asks for flavour and hen brings more collagen to the sauce.
- La Mancha saffron threads elevate the dish: lightly toast the threads before pounding.
- Better the next day: prepare the night before and reheat over very low heat.
Other traditional recipes
- MeatsWood-fired roast lambThe star dish of Atienza mountain cuisine: milk-fed lamb roasted whole, with lard, garlic and white wine. Traditional recipe for the home oven.
- SweetsTraditional Easter torrijasThe undisputed sweet of Atienza Easter: bread slices soaked in milk infused with cinnamon and lemon, coated in egg and fried in hot oil.
- SweetsGrandma's rosquillasLifelong oil and anise rosquillas: the most homemade sweet of the Atienza recipe book.
Taste it in Atienza
The village restaurants serve the traditional recipe book all year round.