Arroz Con Pollo
Arroz Con Pollo literally means Rice with Chicken - a delicious one pot Spanish and Mexican dish. This popular chicken-and-rice dish is actually a paella without shellfish. It is a traditional dish that is common throughout Latin America. All countries have a variation of this dish, using different spices, herbs and vegetables.
Although claimed to be a dish native to the Caribbean or Latin America, this dish has roots in the motherland of Spain. Arroz con pollo dates back to the eighth century when the Moors occupied Spain and influenced the way they imported and exported goods, along with the way they ate.
Moorish cuisine has distinct characteristics which reveals evidence that arroz con pollo originated in Spain during their reign. The cuisine is typically communal which means that dishes are shared and passed around the table. Arroz con pollo or paella would be passed around in a pot, served family style. The use of herbs, such as saffron, cumin and coriander, is also highly characteristic of the Moorish culture in Spain and these herbs are used in arroz con pollo. Color is another feature in Moorish dishes that suggests that arroz con pollo comes from the Moorish influence in Spain. The rice or arroz is colored reddish yellow due to the use of saffron. Moorish dishes also use a lot of green, yellow and white products, such as white rice with vegetables
Arroz Con Pollo
Recipe courtesy Alex Garcia
1 (3 pound) chicken cut into 8 pieces, skin removed
Salt and pepper
1 lime, juiced
1/2 cup pure Spanish olive oil
1 onion, small dice
1 green pepper, small dice
1 roasted red pepper, small dice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup prepared tomato sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup dry white wine
12 ounces beer
1/2 cup sherry
3 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups Valencia rice, soaked in cold water for 1 hour
5 saffron threads
1 cup frozen sweet peas
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and lime juice. In a large casserole or dutch oven, heat the olive oil. Brown the chicken, remove the chicken from the pan, and set aside.
Add the onions, peppers, and garlic to the casserole. Cook until translucent. Add the tomato sauce, cumin, and bay leaf; cook for another 5 minutes. Add the chicken, wine, beer, and sherry, and cook for 5 to 8 minutes. Add the stock, bring to a boil, and adjust the seasoning. Add the drained rice and the saffron.
Bring the mixture to a boil, cover, and cook in the oven for 20 minutes.
Remove the rice from the oven and add the peas, fluffing the rice and mixing in the peas at the same time. Serve hot.
Regional Variations
The Cuban variant is done with valencia rice (arborio is good too) and more liquid is added to produce a slightly soupy rice that is served in a bowl. It is also garnished with cooked peas, smoked red pepper or pimiento strips and stuffed green olives. Fried sweet plantains are often served on the side.
Peas, pimentos, olives, tomatoes, and yellow saffron-flavored rice are a must if you want more of an authentic Central-South American taste and look. Yes, the rice and chicken are initially browned a little in oil ... no flour though, I think that part is some sort of North American thing.
This is my families all time favorite dish. I love all the tasty variations. I learned my recipe from a Cuban lady. She added red peppers and peas and chopped salt pork or bacon while browning the chicken. Oregano is the main herb. I use lots of it. I also prefer the dryer dish. I brown the chicken, salt pork, then add the rice and fry it until it is golden. I then add the wet ingredients and pop it into an oven to bake. I use an iron and enamel casserole pot with a lid for a richer, deeper flavor. When I am feeling Southwestern I skip the red pepper and use red New Mexico chile pods that I have pulverized with garlic and a little water in my blender.
We made this from a neighbor's recipe when we lived in Brazil...called "Galinhada"...they make it on stovetop in huge pots with an entire skin-on chicken, sometimes two, cut into small pieces. They rub the chicken with only garlic cloves, salt, pepper, lime juice, before browning in lard. They don't use tomatoes, but lots of onions and garlic, as in a whole head of garlic --about 15 cloves--per each chicken. Some add bacon or Polish sausage sliced, once the liquid is added, as for cassoulet, and add some wine to the stock. The only green vegetable I saw was lots of parsley, like 1 or 2 cups, chopped w/ the stems and added w/ the stock. They simmer longer, at a lower temp than this recipe-I bring to a boil,then simmer at very low temp for 45 min to an hour w/ a long grain rice. The rice is much like a risotto. Unbelievably good.
Arroz Con Pollo
from https://www.foodandwine.com/
Arroz con pollo, or rice with chicken, might be one of the most recognizable staple dishes from Latin America. The dish is an expression of Puerto Rican mixed ancestry; comparable to Spanish paella but strikingly similar to Nigerian jollof rice, it reflects European and West African influence on the island’s culture and cuisine.
Avoid the urge to take the lid off, stir, or adjust the seasoning before it’s done cooking. Fresh ripe avocados and tomatoes, a sprinkle of fresh cilantro, a hit of lime juice, and hot sauce for added brightness are all perfect to accompany the savory rice and chicken.
The key to great arroz con pollo is to avoid stirring once the rice is in the pot, as stirring then will make your rice gummy. Instead, carefully shake the lidded pot during the cooking process — using pot holders to grip the handles, then either shaking back and forth or swiveling left to right — to prevent the rice from sticking too much to the bottom. You really can’t shake it too much. That said, a little pegao or concón — the toasted rice that sticks to the bottom of composed rice dishes, similar to Persian tahdig or Vietnamese cơm cháy — is welcome.
3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken drumsticks and thighs, patted dry
1 tablespoon adobo seasoning
1 tablespoon sazón
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/2 cups lower-sodium chicken broth
1 large yellow onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
1 small red bell pepper, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups white medium-grain rice, rinsed well
1/2 cup pimiento-stuffed olives (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon ground annatto (achiote powder) or sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
Avocado slices and tomato wedges, for garnish
Hot sauce and lime wedges, for serving
Place chicken, adobo seasoning, sazón, and salt in a large ziplock plastic bag. Seal bag, and shake until chicken is coated.
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high. Add half of the chicken pieces, skin side down; cook until skin is golden brown, 4 minutes per side for drumsticks and about 8 minutes, undisturbed, for thighs. Transfer to a large plate, and repeat process with remaining chicken pieces. Meanwhile, bring broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high. Reduce heat to low; cover and keep warm until ready to use.
Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic to chicken drippings in Dutch oven; reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add tomato paste; cook, stirring constantly and scraping up any browned bits from bottom of Dutch oven, 1 minute.
Stir in warm broth, rice, olives (if using), cilantro, annatto, black pepper, and bay leaves.
Nestle chicken pieces into broth mixture; bring to a simmer over medium. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, uncovered, until lots of little bubbles start to appear on the surface and there is no longer a layer of liquid on top, about 8 minutes, shaking Dutch oven every few minutes to keep rice level. Cover Dutch oven, and reduce heat to low; cook until rice is al dente, about 15 minutes, shaking Dutch oven every 4 to 5 minutes.
Once liquid is mostly absorbed, sprinkle peas over top, and gently stir, bringing rice from bottom to top. Cover Dutch oven, and remove from heat; let stand for 10 minutes. Transfer rice and chicken to a serving platter. Garnish with avocado slices and tomato wedges; season with salt to taste. Serve immediately with hot sauce and lime wedges.
Servings: 6
