Pollo al Ajillo (Garlic Chicken)  

I learned how to make this dish from a friend who grew up in Cadiz. It's delicious, simmers beautifully on the stove to warm the house on a cold winter's day, and can be made in a slow cooker f you want it to be ready when you get home from work.

1/4 cup/60ml good olive oil
1 chicken, cut up into serving pieces, or 8-10 chicken thighs (cook with skin and bones intact for better flavor)
2 heads (yes heads, not cloves!) garlic, cloves separated, peeled and minced (do not crush in a press; the texture will be wrong)
5ml/1 tsp. dry thyme
325ml (1/2 bottle) dry white wine or more as needed (choose a Spanish wine such as Torres Vinasol)
10ml/2 tsp. sweet smoked Spanish paprika (do not substitute Hungarian or worse, US supermarket paprika; the former is good but the wrong flavor and the latter is just tasteless ground red cardboard)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Generous handful chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven and brown the chicken but do not cook through. Remove to a plate. Add the garlic to the oil and cook, stirring, until golden. Take care not to burn any of it or it will become bitter. Stir in the thyme for a few seconds. Return the chicken to the pot and pour in any juices that collected on the plate. Add the wine and simmer 30-45 minutes, or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked. Add wine as needed. Taste and add salt and pepper. Remove from heat and add plenty of parsley.

Serve over hot cooked rice with a side of cooked Swiss chard, a vegetable well loved in Spain.

For the first course, consider a tomato and basil soup, sopa al cuarto de hora or another soup with plenty of vegetables.

Drink white Spanish wine with your meal and some lemon-lime seltzer water garnished with a slice of lemon. Enjoy a fresh orange for dessert. Finish with a cup of expreso.