Flag of the Asturian recipes along with the beans with clams, the tuna roll, the Asturian bean stew or the stuffed onions, the pitu de caleya is one of the banners of the gastronomy of the principality of Asturias.
When we speak of pitu de caleya we refer to a chicken that is raised more or less wild along the paths (caleya in bable) and that has an organic diet based on corn, cereals, small insects, seeds…
Is about chickens larger than typical free range chickensbeing able to reach up to six kilos in weight and, obviously, having much more flavor than any type of chicken that is raised intensively or even than the majority of free-range chickens in Spain.
The meat of the pitu de caleya is a a bit harder, darker and more fibrous than the rest of the chickens, but it is also tastier, so I also need a little more cooking. In any case, it will always be a chicken stew recipe that you can make and you can use this same preparation for any other chicken, even if it is not a pitu de caleya.
In essence, we are talking about a free-range chicken that does not belong to a specific breed. As is usually seen, although it is true that there is an Asturian breed, the Asturian pita pinta that usually give fame to this type of chicken, but not all the pitu de caleya are really of this breed.
Season the pitu and brown in a large saucepan over medium high heat, set aside. in that same pot fry the head of garlic cut in half 2 minutes on low heat. Add the julienned onions and cook for 20 minutes over medium heat.
Add the peppers and cook 10 more minutes. Add the alcohols and evaporate. Add the pitu and the chicken broth and cook covered over low heat for about 90 minutes.
put salt and pepper and serve. It can be accompanied by fried potatoes or cooked potatoes.
With what to accompany the pitu caleya
The pitu of caleya, often seen also as pitu caleyait can be made in this type of stew or it is also very common to do it in rice with pitu de caleya, as is the style in the Asturian restaurant Casa Marcial, a two-Michelin star restaurant that has evolved from a food house to a gastronomic restaurant under the baton by chef Nacho Manzano.
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