By accident the other day, I happened to catch a little of Nigella Lawson's TV show. She was making a super easy oven-baked Spanish chicken. I found the recipe online and tried it out last night. Before baking it looked gorgeous.
After baking, not so much.
Before dinner, I told my husband I would have to blog about this chicken as a major FAIL. He insisted that it was not a failure at all. Turns out he likes onion and garlic blackened in olive oil. Actually the chicken and potatoes were quite tasty, and even the chorizo was good if one could look past the heavily blackened exterior.
I'm pretty sure the finished dish is not supposed to look like this. I'm not sure what went wrong. I did trim some of the fat from the chicken thighs before cooking. I also used Mexican chorizo rather than Spanish. It was a soft chorizo with no casing. Maybe that's why it charred. The onions? I don't know. I cut them in fair sized pieces. Maybe next time -- and, yes, I think there will be a next time -- I'll lower the temperature a bit. The only changes I made from Nigella's recipe were to reduce everything (I used four thighs rather than twelve), lightly salt the chicken, and I added a couple of grinds of black pepper over the whole thing and three large cloves of garlic, peeled and quartered. Click here to go to Nigella's recipe. Don't judge her recipe by my blackened mess.
After baking, not so much.
Before dinner, I told my husband I would have to blog about this chicken as a major FAIL. He insisted that it was not a failure at all. Turns out he likes onion and garlic blackened in olive oil. Actually the chicken and potatoes were quite tasty, and even the chorizo was good if one could look past the heavily blackened exterior.
I think Nigella is lovely, she always seems so glamorous and makes gorgeous food. The recipe looks really good, glad it tasted good despite a bit of charring :) x
ReplyDeleteWow - that's weird - I still think it looks great blackened though - looks Indian like Tandoori Chicken.
ReplyDeleteThanks
Angie
It still looks very tasty. We eat a lot of chicken and I'm always looking for new recipes. Thx.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what happened. Whenever something like that happens to me, I have to keep trying the recipe to see if I can get it right.
ReplyDeleteI bet it tasted great. As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter what it looks like if it tastes good.
ReplyDeleteI've had dishes come out like this too. Some of them still had a good flavor (in spite of what it looked like). Sounds like a tasty dish!
ReplyDeleteWell, you tried and as long as it tasted good...
ReplyDeleteI tried a peach cheesecake last night and was disappointed at the lack of peach flavor. Someone has now suggested that I add almond extract to bring out the peach taste.
The most important thing is that it was edible. And your "before" picture is so pretty!
ReplyDeletemy hubby loves food blackened...and I think it still looks good.
ReplyDeleteDebbi
-yankeeburrowcreations
Blackened or not, I'm glad that it was still tasty.
ReplyDeleteGlad you got lots of sweet comments on your chicken dish....I am gonna say looks like a "hot mess"! hee hee.
ReplyDeleteWell I still think it looks great, but I LOVE blackened stuff. We burn some things on purpose around here:)
ReplyDeleteAre you sure it isn't supposed to look like that because it is supposed to be blackened. I think it looks good, and your husband obviously liked it.
ReplyDeleteI think this looks good!!!!! def would have tried it :)
ReplyDeleteI hate when that happens! Follow all the directions(which I'm not good on doing) and it doesn't work out. As long as it tastes good, though, don't worry about!
ReplyDeleteThis dish looks delicious!!! I don't know if I can make this. =(
ReplyDeleteDid you cover it? That might help. I bet the chicken was yummy, though :)
ReplyDeleteYou are a trooper to want to try this recipe again! I'm not sure I would attempt it. I have had a few mishaps myself lately. Not too long ago, and I still don't remembering doing it, I must have doubled the salt because the dish was in-edible. Can't wait to see how round 2 comes out for you! Thanks for visiting my blog and always leaving such nice comments. I really appreciate it..Happy Labor Day...Ann
ReplyDeleteYou're right - it does look amazing uncooked. What a shame it didn't turn out well. I had a disaster last week. I made an Indian curry and I had to make the curry paste and I don't know what went wrong but the curry was so bitter tasting we couldn't eat it. I have no idea what ingredient it was that made it bitter. And Archie had brought two friends over for dinner - major disaster! xx
ReplyDeleteWow! I do like that charred flavor so I would have still eaten it. I'll bet the chicken tasted good. You're right, it looked awesome before going into the oven. I would try it again.
ReplyDeleteIt's really frustrating when one follows all the directions and it doesn't turn out as expected. But if it tastes good, that's all that matters.
ReplyDeleteI baked a strawberry tart a few weeks ago. The pastry cream was too runny. Luckily, it tasted yum. But I was determined to get it right. So I re made it again this Monday and it was a big hit!!!
Nice! Pollo asado! Great job! As a Spaniard, I'm proud of u! Congrats! xoxo
ReplyDeleteOh, I love blackened chicken...I would have loved this, I know.
ReplyDeleteYa know, sometimes the worse looking food is some of the best tasting! It actually looks good to me :)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it did taste good. I'm glad your hubby still ate it. I think it looks pretty tasty. Thanks for stopping by Posed Perfection this week and leaving me a sweet comment about the corn on the cob. Hope you have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Nici
And thanks for the kind words about the Ozark Apple cake and my peeling abilities;-)
DeleteBlessings,
Nici
Aaaaawww well the black stuff isnt supposed to be good for you but it tastes soooo good!!Ive been kind of busy with too many balls to juggle lately but its nice to be reading your blog again!
ReplyDeleteThe thing I love about Nigella's recipe is that she doesn't seem to care too much about the finished look (though the recipe book photos are gorgeous!!) but is more concerned about the taste. I'd say, if your hubby thought it was yummy, then you maybe didn't do anything wrong at all!!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Nigella's books!! So glad to chat to another fan!!
Sarahx
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments on my blog. My sister is not computer friendly but I've told her about all the comments I've had about her garden and her hanging baskets (over 50) which has made her feel quite smug and happy :-)
I've never heard of this recipe before but then it could be from another region in Spain from where I live. Here in Alicante it popular to make Roast Lemon Chicken or a Chicken and tomato with green peppers.
Still if it tasted nice then that is the main thing!
keep well
Amanda :-)