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Pollastre amb Escamarlans (Mar i Muntanya)

Pollastre amb Escamarlans (Mar i Muntanya) reads umami 7.9, richness 7.3 and salinity 5.8 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Spanish · Catalonia main, about 2 hr 9 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 8.9 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 4.3 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 3.3 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 2.8 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 8.8 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 3.7 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 7.9 · Richness 7.3 · Salinity 5.8 · Nutty 5.0 · Sweetness 3.4 · Allium 3.4 · Fruity 2.9 · Funk & Ferment 2.7 · Sourness 2.7 · Bitterness 2.3 · Citrus 2.3 · Earthy 2.1 · Marine & Briny 2.1 · Herbaceous 1.7 · Floral 1.6 · Smoke 1.4 · Warm Spice 1.2 · Heat 0.7

What's in it (17)

• chicken — 1600 g
• langoustines — 600 g
• onions — 400 g
• tomatoes — 400 g
• extra virgin olive oil — 92 g
• brandy — 100 g
• dry white wine — 200 g
• chicken stock — 400 g
• blanched almonds — 30 g
• hazelnuts — 30 g
• dark chocolate — 20 g
• garlic — 12 g
• flat-leaf parsley — 8 g
• country ham — 25 g
• nyora peppers — 5 g
• salt — 10 g
• black pepper — 2 g

Time & effort: about 2 hr 9 min (2 hr 6 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 89.4 kcal, 8 g protein, 4.3 g fat, 2.3 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

1. Mar i muntanya — sea and mountain — is the Catalan habit of cooking shellfish and meat in the same pot, and this Empordà version with chicken and langoustines is the clearest example of it. The chocolate at the end is not a dessert flourish; it is a thickener and a bitter note, and there is so little of it you should not be able to name it in the finished sauce.
2. Season the chicken pieces well with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a wide heavy casserole and brown the chicken hard on all sides over high heat, about 12 minutes in two batches. Take it out.
3. Sear the langoustines in the same fat for 1 minute a side until the shells redden, and set them aside too.
4. Lower the heat and add the onion. Cook it 30 minutes, stirring, until it collapses to a dark gold jam. Add the grated tomato and cook 20 minutes more, until the oil separates.
5. Pour in the brandy and let it flame off or bubble hard for 2 minutes. Add the wine and reduce 5 minutes. Tear the nyora into the pot and let it soften in the sauce for 3 minutes.
6. Return the chicken, add the stock, cover, and simmer very gently for 35 minutes until the chicken is falling from the bone.
7. Make the picada: pound the toasted almonds and hazelnuts, garlic, parsley and the fried bread to a coarse paste, then work in the grated chocolate. Loosen with a ladle of the sauce, stir it into the pot and cook uncovered 10 minutes — the sauce will thicken and go glossy and dark. Return the langoustines for the last 4 minutes to warm through. Serve with bread and nothing else.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Suquet de Peix — Spanish · Catalonia
• Diots au Vin Blanc — French · Savoy
• Salade Paysanne De Clementine — French
• Braciole in Sunday Gravy — Italian-American
• Wild Mushroom and Leek Galette — French

Keep reading: what umami, richness, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.