Arroz con Pollo 1 (Chicken with Rice)
I have so many recipes for Arroz con Pollo which I still have to try. This is a dish which most every Hispanic country calls their own. Quite surprising to see how many different versions there are out there. There must be a different version for every country Spain colonized through the centuries.
I’m contemplating starting a kitchen experiment of the different versions of Arroz con Pollo I can find. Then I’ll decide which one I’ll adopt for my own.
Let’s start with this Cubano version. The rest of the recipes just have to wait…until I get back to Colorado from visiting family in the Philippines.
This version is an adaptation of Ramona V. Abella’s Cuban recipe found on this link. This was a good basic recipe overall. However, I ran out of pimientos, frozen peas and asparagus and my Fat Tire Amber Ale is all packed to take to the Philippines.
Admittedly, the dish suffered for lack of the vegetables. It reminded me of my childhood “Orange Rice” (arroz Valenciana)… after I weeded out the offending ingredients. (Read: vegetables)
I will definitely try this again…with all the ingredients I didn’t have today.
Arroz con Pollo 1: (Cubano)
1.5 lbs. chicken thighs, cut into medium pieces
1/2 tbsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
3 cloves crushed garlic
1 small onion, chopped
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
2 bay leaves
10 pieces stuffed Spanish olives
1 small can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tbsp. vinegar
2.5 c. low-sodium or homemade chicken broth
1 3/4 c. c. long grain rice
In an oven-proof casserole, mix the first 9 ingredients. Bring this to a boil over medium heat and stir well. Add the broth, vinegar and paprika. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook 20 minutes over medium heat. Add the rice and cook covered for an additional 10 minutes over low heat.
Remove the casserole and place it covered into a pre-heated 325F over. Cook another 20 minutes. Take the pot onto the stovetop over medium heat. Fluff the rice with a fork. When all liquids have been absorbed, your dish is ready. There will be a nice, toasty crust at the bottom of your casserole…that’s the best part of all!
April 13th, 2006 at 10:05 am
hello, i will try this, i think my husband will like this. this is the same as his mom’s spanish rice but only this has chicken and peas. thanks for the recipe
April 15th, 2006 at 8:32 am
Hi Alilay, this is Mr. Mitams, keeping the blog running while Mita is visiting her mom in the Philippines. Believe me, you should give this a try. I’ve had Spanish rice of one sort or another since grade school days (it must have been cheap then, the cafeteria always served it), and I have liked most variations that I have tried. But this one tops the all rest … I just had the leftovers of it for lunch yesterday .. still tasted great. Make sure the chicken pieces are small and boneless, gluttons like me prefer to shovel it right in
August 3rd, 2006 at 7:28 am
[...] Here’s another Cuban-style Arroz con Pollo recipe, second in a series I said in a previous post I would undertake for this blog.? Between this recipe and the first one, I prefer this one for flavor.? Although, I think I’ll marry the two recipes and come up with a better one that will be for keeps…until the next best recipe I find anyway! [...]
October 5th, 2006 at 10:10 am
Ooohwee, that sounds delicious. I am going to try that out tomorrow. Thanks!
March 12th, 2010 at 9:00 am
I’ve started cooking this. Ready to start baking and not sure I can keep my hands out of it. Already tastes delicious. Only thing I did different is, I used legs and thighs (bone in) and browned them really well with the skin on (not cooked through by any means) before adding the next 8 ingredients. Followed the remaining cooking instructions in the same pan to include the browned bits in the bottom of the pan. Cannot wait to eat!!