Pollo en Pepitoria (Chicken in Almond Sauce)

4.75 from 4 votes

This delicious recipe for chicken in almond sauce is called pollo en pepitoria in Spanish. It's one of my favorite Spanish recipes!

Prep Time10

Cook Time50

Total Time1

Course: Chicken

Cuisine: Spanish

Servings: servings

Calories: 728.34kcal

Cover the bottom of a large, heavy skillet in olive oil and place over medium heat.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add to the hot pan, browning for a short time on each side. Remove the meat from the pan and lower the heat.
Add the diced onion to the oil and sauté until golden, about 5 minutes, then add the white wine.
Return the chicken to the pan and cover with the chicken stock, then add the bay leaves and cinnamon. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes, turning the chicken over about halfway through.
Meanwhile, cook the hard-boiled eggs, then separate the yolks from the whites. Save the yolks for the sauce, and dice up the whites for a garnish later.
In another frying pan, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Add the garlic and almonds (You can also add a couple slices of stale bread torn in pieces if you like to make a classic picada.) Fry until golden brown, then drain on paper towels to remove excess oil.
Blend the almonds, garlic, (bread if using), and hard boiled egg yolks in a food processor until you have a thick paste. If necessary, add some of the liquid from the chicken to help blend.
Stir the paste into the stew and add a pinch of saffron. Simmer uncovered, stirring frequently until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is cooked through.
Season with salt and pepper and serve. I like to serve the stew with rice, mashed potatoes, or bread to sop up extra sauce, which isn't traditional but is delicious. Garnish with the chopped egg whites.

I made this using chicken thighs, but you can use whichever part of the chicken you prefer. If using chicken breasts don't brown too much at the beginning so that they aren't too dry.
If you want even more yellow color from the saffron, add a few strands to the white wine about 15 minutes before adding it to the stew. It will release more beautiful yellow color (and saffron flavor!) to the dish.