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Recipe · Mallorcan

Mallorcan Chicken Escaldums with Almonds

Prep
20 min
Cook
1 h 10 min
Total
1 h 30 min
Serves
4 servings

Escaldums are one of the oldest, most distinctively Mallorcan stews still cooked. Poultry, toasted ground almonds, saffron, a clay pot and two hours of gentle heat — and on the table you get what looks like a recovered medieval stew.

The classic version is turkey, the Christmas and feast-day dish. This chicken version is the everyday one — quicker, equally delicious, perfect for a winter Sunday with family.

What sets it apart from any standard chicken stew comes down to two things: the toasted ground almonds that thicken the sauce, and the saffron that gilds it. The rest is patience.

Ingredients

  • 1 free-range chicken (1.5 kg) cut into 8 pieces — or 1 thigh and 1 drumstick per person
  • 100 g raw blanched almonds — classically from the Pla de Mallorca
  • 4 medium potatoes
  • 200 g fresh mushrooms (porcini in autumn, cremini the rest)
  • 1 large onion
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 2 ripe peeled tomatoes
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 sprig of thyme
  • a generous pinch of saffron threads
  • 500 ml chicken stock
  • 1 glass dry white wine
  • extra virgin Mallorcan olive oil
  • salt, black pepper

Method

  1. 1

    Toast the almonds

    In a small dry pan over medium heat, toast the almonds until they start to colour and smell fragrant. Set aside. When cooled slightly, pound them finely in a mortar or blend with a little stock until you have a loose paste.

  2. 2

    Sear the chicken

    Season the chicken pieces. Heat oil in a clay pot or deep pan and sear the pieces over high heat until well browned on all sides. Remove and set aside.

  3. 3

    Sweat the vegetables

    In the same oil, reduce the heat and sweat the chopped onion until soft. Add the chopped garlic and, when fragrant, the peeled chopped tomatoes. Cook 10 minutes until the sofrito is dry.

  4. 4

    Add the mushrooms

    Add the cleaned, sliced mushrooms. Raise the heat for a couple of minutes to drive off their water. Return the chicken to the pot.

  5. 5

    Build the sauce

    Add the bay leaf, thyme, saffron threads and the almond paste. Pour in the white wine and let reduce for 2 minutes. Add the hot stock until three-quarters of the chicken is covered.

  6. 6

    Stew

    Bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook 30 minutes. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and quarter them. Add the potatoes to the pot and cook uncovered for another 25 minutes until tender and the sauce is golden and thickened.

  7. 7

    Serve

    Serve straight from the clay pot with farmer's bread to mop up the sauce. Better if it rests 10 minutes before eating.

Cook's notes

Chicken escaldums are the everyday version — at Christmas tradition calls for turkey, which gives a richer sauce and a deeper flavour. The almond is what makes an escaldum an escaldum. Toast it too far and it goes bitter; don't toast it enough and it adds nothing. Wait for the first aroma and pull immediately.

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Rather we cooked it for you?

We serve Mallorcan Chicken Escaldums with Almonds at Restaurant Es Muntant, in Establiments. Table waiting, wood-fire on.

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