Ingredients Making a proper pollastre de pagès (country-style chicken) 1 good free-range chicken (about 2.5 kg) 150 ml of Rancio wine 1 tablespoon of honey 50 g of lard extra virgin olive oil salt black pepper savoury herbs For the cherries in syrup: 500 g of cherries 500 ml of mineral water 100 g brown sugar Equipment needed: Baking tray, saucepan, colander and bowl Preparation time: 2 h approx Difficulty: Medium About sweet fruits Summer stone fruits –apricots, peaches, cherries, and many more– have inspired countless culinary combinations that have been part of Catalonia's cultural heritage since ancient times. This dialogue between sweet and savoury is a delicious part of our culinary heritage. For example, at Christmas, candied plums and apricots are traditionally added to stews; during Lent, cod is transformed into dishes that combine sultana raisins and pine nuts, and we also make tomato jam. In the Maresme region, in summer, dishes featuring cooked fruit are commonplace: apples, pears or sweet and savoury stuffed peaches. Duck with pears, rabbit with plums and chicken with peaches are common in recipes from the Empordà. The combination of poultry and fruit can be found throughout history in Catalan recipes. This recipe is part of a recipe book of a wealthy household where the combination of poultry with fresh fruit was synonymous with festivity and refinement. We haven’t added or removed any ingredients from the original recipe: we have kept true to how it was originally made. Steps to follow Remove the feathers and the gizzards from the chicken (you can ask for this when you buy it). Cut it into eighths and pass it over the flame. Place the chicken on a baking tray, with the skin underneath, in contact with the tray. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle a little oil over the top, as well as the diced lard. Bake it in a hot oven at 190 °C for 30 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven and sprinkle it with the Rancio wine, mixed well with the honey and savoury herbs. Turn the chicken over and bake again at 160 °C for 90 minutes. After the first 30 minutes, remove the breast pieces and set them aside. Turn the rest of the pieces every 30 minutes, so that the stew is uniform. For the cherries in syrup: wash the cherries and remove the tails. Put the water and sugar in a wide saucepan and, when the syrup starts to boil, add the cherries and cook for 3 min. Let them cool for a few minutes in the syrup. Remove the chicken from the oven. Add the cherries to the chicken tray and, if it doesn’t have much juice, a couple of spoonfuls of the syrup. Add the pieces of breast that you had removed in the tray and bake it all again, 15 minutes more. Remove it from the oven and place the chicken and cherries on a presentation platter, to display on the table. Pour the cooking juices through a fine sieve and leave to stand for 1 minute, to remove the fat that will rise to the surface. Presentation and recommended garnishes Before serving, adjust the salt and pepper in the sauce, and present it in a separate sauce dish. Other related recipes you can prepare Sauteed peaches with sweet wine Fricandó with mushrooms