Baked chicken with garlic and sherry

This is the most delicious way of cooking chicken which basically creates sticky, sherry-flavoured chicken nuggets. It comes from my friend Charlotte and I’ve been cooking it for about 20 years

Serves 4

A medium-sized chicken or 1 kg chicken thighs

1 head of garlic

extra virgin olive oil

about 3 sprigs each fresh rosemary and/or thyme

100ml fino sherry or white wine

Salt and pepper

* Take a medium-sized chicken and chop/joint it into pieces - slightly bigger than bite-sized - leaving it on the bone or chop each thigh in half with a sharp knife or cleaver. DO NOT REMOVE THE SKIN!

* Sprinkle salt (and pepper) over the chicken pieces

* Take a head of garlic, separate the cloves and, leaving the skin on, smash with the flat side of a knife.

* In a large, thick-bottomed, shallow pan heat a good glug of decent olive oil and sauté/seal the chicken til golden brown (skin-side down first)

* Throw in the garlic and a couple of sprigs each of fresh rosemary and thyme and turn the heat up, whilst stirring

* Add a small glass of fino sherry or white wine, quickly bring to the boil and then put into a pre-heated oven (180°C/350°/gas 4) for 30-45 minutes until the chicken is cooked and sticky with the caramelised garlic and juices

* Serve with a bitter leaf salad and roasted new potatoes or crusty bread to mop up the juices in the base of the pan.

What to drink: Well, you could carry on drinking sherry but I think that might be overdoing it. I'd go for an oaked white rioja or a white Côtes du Rhône myself.

Want more ideas for pairing with sherry? Download my ebook 101 Great Ways to Enjoy Sherry here.