Arroz con Pollo

Arroz con pollo

(rice with chicken in Spanish) is a traditional dish of Latin America and the Caribbean, especially in Puerto Rico, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Cuba, Costa Rica, Honduras and the Dominican Republic where it is called locrio de pollo.

The dish, which originated in Spain as a form of pilaf, is now a staple throughout Latin America.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Food writer Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz, while pointing to the international aspects of the dish, notes that its origin in Spain already reflected international influences: chicken was brought from India and rice from Asia; saffron was introduced by Phoenician traders; tomatoes and peppers are natives of the Americas.^[1]

Arroz Con Pollo Recipe

Ingredients

Chicken

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 broiler-fryer chicken, about 2 1/2-3 pounds, cut into serving pieces, or 2 1/2 to 3 pounds of chicken thighs or breasts, bone-in, with skin on, rinsed and patted dry
• 1/2 cup of flour for dredging
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Paprika

Rice

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (can use up to 1/4 cup)
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 cups of medium or long-grain white rice
• 3 cups* chicken stock
• 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste or 1 cup of diced fresh or cooked tomatoes, strained
• Pinch of oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt

*Check the instructions on the rice package for the proportions of liquid to rice. They can range from 1:1 to 2:1. If your rice calls for 2 cups of water for every cup of rice, then for this recipe, use 4 cups of stock for 2 cups of rice.

Method

1 Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet (a skillet that has a cover) on medium high heat. Put the flour in a wide bowl, mix in a generous sprinkling of salt, pepper, and paprika. Dredge the chicken pieces lightly in the flour mixture and put in the pan to brown. (You can skip the flour dredging part if you want. It just makes a nicer coating for the chicken.) Cook a few minutes on each side, just enough so that the chicken has browned. Use a slotted spoon to remove from pan and set aside.

2 Add the rice to the pan to brown. Add a little more olive oil if necessary. Stir first to coat the rice with the olive oil in the pan. Then don't stir too much or you will prevent it from browning. Let it brown and then stir a little to let more of it brown. Then add the onion and garlic. Cook the onion, garlic and rice mixture, stirring frequently, until the onions have softened, about 4 minutes.

3 Place the chicken pieces, skin-side up, on top of the rice. In a separate bowl, mix together the stock, tomato, salt, and oregano. Pour the stock mixture over the rice and chicken. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and cover. Let cook for 20-25 minutes, depending on the type of rice and the instructions on the rice package, until the rice and chicken are done. Fluff the rice with a fork. If you want you can sprinkle with some peas. Add more salt and pepper to taste.