Pollo Almendrado

Photo: flickr user zerethv

Ingredients

cup whole blanched almonds, toasted (see note)

Vegetable oil, for browning

3 pounds chicken pieces (cut-up whole chicken or

cup crushed pineapple (fresh or canned)

1 cup seedless grapes

1 cup orange juice

1 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons honey

teaspoon ground cinnamon

teaspoon ground cloves

teaspoon dried thyme

Slivers of orange peel, for garnish

Preparation

Cool and grind 1/2 cup of the toasted almonds in a blender until fine.

Coarsely chop the remaining 1/4 cup.

Heat oil to 370 degrees F in a large skillet. Brown chicken pieces, 10 minutes on each side. Place chicken in a single layer in a shallow glass baking pan.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine pineapple, grapes, orange juice, wine, honey, cinnamon, cloves, thyme and all of the almonds; pour over chicken. Bake for 40 minutes, basting several times with pan juices. Increase oven to 350 degrees; bake 10 minutes longer.

Garnish with orange peel and serve.

Note: To blanch almonds, put them in a bowl, pour boiling water over them, let sit 5 minutes, then drain and pull skins off.

To toast almonds, arrange dry nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place

In a 300-degree oven for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure that the nuts brown evenly.