Arroz con pollo or rice with chicken is my kind of favorite dish to cook. Why ? It’s one-pot meal! Originated in Spain in the form of pilaf, arroz con polo has become staples in Latin America and throughout the Carribean. The chicken is infused with flavor from adobo rub. Rice is flavored with sofrito (combination of herbs and vegetables) and beer! This recipe also includes pimento-stuffed olives. I was never a fan of olives. I’ll eat them if I have to. I liked them on arroz con pollo however.
This arroz con pollo is another winner recipe from Bobby Flay’s Throwdown cookbook. I can see why it’s a winner! We couldn’t have enough of it!
ARROZ CON POLLO / RICE WITH CHICKEN
Ingredients
- 4 cups long-grain white rice
- 2 Tbsp granulated garlic
- 1 Tbsp granulated onion
- 1 ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 ½ tsp dried oregano
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Juice of 2 limes
- 4 bone-in , skinless chicken drumsticks (about 1 lb)
- 4 bone-in , skinless chicken thighs (about 1 lb)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 ½ tsp annatto seeds
- 1 small white onion , chopped
- 1 small green bell pepper , chopped
- 1 small red bell pepper , chopped
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- ¼ cup diced dried SPanish chorizo (about 2 oz)
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ¼ cup pimento-stuffed Spanish olives
- 3 bay leaves
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 (12 oz) beer
Instructions
- Swish the rice in a bowl of cold water and drain; repeat until the water is clear. Set aside
- Combine the granulated garlic, onion, cumin, oregano, 1 1/2 Tbsp salt, and 1 1/2 tsp black pepper in a small bowl. Rub about 3 Tbsp of this mixture and the lime juice into the chicken pieces. Reserve the remaining adobo mixture
- Heat the olive oil in a large, wide Dutch oven over low heat, and add the annatto seeds (if using), if you substitute with turmeric powder, add it here. Cook, stirring frequently until the oil has turned orange. Be carefuly not to burn the annatto seeds or the oil will be bitter. Strain, discarding the seeds if using
- Return the oil to the pot. Raise the heat to medium and cook the chicken, in batches if necessary, until golden brown on both sides, about 8 minutes total. Remove to a platter
- Add the onion, garlic, green and red bell peppers, cilantro to the pot and cook for another 5 minutes; season generously with salt to taste. Stir in the chorizo, tomato paste, olives, bay leaves, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and 3 Tbsp adobo mixture you save earlier. Cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes. Then return the chicken and any juices on the platter to the pot. Continue cooking, turning to coat the chicken in the sofrito-chorizo mixture, for 2 to 3 minutes
- Stir in the rice. Then stir in the chicken stock and beer, raise the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Boil, uncovered, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, give the ingredients a stir, cover, and cook until the rice is tender and fluffy and the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaves before serving
Notes
If you can't find annatto seeds, you may substitute with saffron threads, however, I know that is a very expensive substitution. The purpose of the annatto seeds is to give some color to the dish. So, I substituted with turmeric powder instead. Much cheaper compare to saffron threads and did what I want it to do: orange color!
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