Arroz con Pollo

Well, my friend Anita is becoming such a regular contributor around here that she's hardly a guest anymore! She's sharing their favorite Arroz con Pollo recipe with you today! Enjoy! 

I’m all about one-pot meals because I can serve it all in one dish and there’s less clean up involved and dishes to wash.  You may already be familiar with arroz con pollo, which is simply Spanish for chicken with rice.  There are so many recipes for it out there online – it seems like everybody has their grandmother’s version and they all vary depending on where in Latin America they are from.  I do have to confess that I have no Latin American heritage but I have a great appreciation for the culture and food.  I originally tried this version (from simplyrecipes.com).  I thought it was okay but my husband thought it was a little bland.  So I tweaked it (a lot!) and came up with this new version, and now he enthusiastically approves.  I love how all the flavors cook together in this dish.  I cook it all in a big wok and I just take it to the table and serve straight from it.    

Arroz con Pollo

Chicken:

3 Tbsp olive oil 

1 whole chicken, about 2 ½ to 3 pounds, cut into serving pieces (skin on or off), rinsed and patted dry. 

(See this post for butchering a whole chicken!)

** (I use 2 breasts and 2-3 legs, I just cook the legs longer and add them first since the breasts cook faster and are apt to dry out. I cut the breast halves into thirds and the legs into two segments so that everything is about the same size.)

Dredging mixture:

½ cup flour

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp ground black pepper

½ tsp paprika

½ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

Rice:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 cups medium or long-grain white rice

6 cups chicken stock (or water plus 2 Tbsp chicken bouillon) 

2 medium-sized tomatoes, diced (about 15 oz)

2 tsp oregano

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp salt, adjust to taste

1 bay leaf

¼ tsp crumbled saffron threads (optional)

¼ cup dry white wine (optional)

about 1 cup peas, fresh or frozen

In a small bowl, stir chicken stock with oregano, cumin, salt, bay leaf and saffron.  Set aside to allow flavors to blend.  (You can heat up the stock to speed up the process.)

Put the flour and spices in a wide bowl. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour mixture.  In a large skillet heat about 3 Tbsp olive oil on medium-high heat.  Cook the chicken a few minutes on each side, just enough so that the outside of the chicken pieces have browned.  Remove from pan and set aside.

Add the rice to the pan over medium-low heat to brown.  Add a little more olive oil if necessary.  Stir a little just to coat the rice with the olive oil in the pan.  Then don't stir too much or you will prevent it from browning.  Add the onions and bell peppers.  Let the rice brown lightly and then stir a little more to let more of it brown.  Cook the onion, peppers, and rice mixture, stirring frequently, until the onions have softened, about 3 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook one minute longer.

Place the chicken pieces on top of the rice.  In a separate bowl, mix together the chicken stock mixture with the tomatoes and white wine, if using.  Pour the stock mixture over the rice and chicken.  Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and cover.  Let cook for about 20-25 minutes (depending on how fast the kind of rice you use normally cooks) until the rice and chicken are done.  Sprinkle in cooked peas at the very end.  Fluff with a fork.  Season with salt and pepper to taste if needed.  Serve and enjoy!

Notes:  If you don't have a wok, you can also cook it in a flat-bottomed pan as long as it's deep and big enough to hold everything.  My wok has a slight flat bottom.  You can adjust the amount of rice and chicken according to how many people are coming for dinner.  This makes enough to serve about 6 people.