Sunday, February 19

Arroz con pollo

Been a while since I posted a recipe, but this one pot wonder worked out well this weekend.

This is a basic rice with chicken recipe. Play around with it to have it deliver the flavors you like.

Ingredients

  • Dark chicken pieces (legs, thighs and wings), about 2-3 lbs.
  • 2 cups long grained rice (the flavors you want to impart should color your choice of rice here. If you want a dish with Indian flavors, use basmati. Oriental, use jasmine. The choice is yours!)
  • One onion, diced
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, diced
  • 4 cups flavorful liquid (this is going to be one of the most important flavor components of the dish. Don't just use H2O here, it doesn't bring any flavor to the party. I like a mixture of chicken stock, turkey stock and white wine. Don't be afraid to experiment.)
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • NACL and black pepper
  • Spices (tailor your spices here; cilantro and jalepenos would be traditional for a Mexican dish; an Indian dish might use cumin, coriander and cinnamon. Be creative!)
  • Olive Oil
  • 1 Cup Chiffinade of fresh herbs (again, experiment with the flavors. Cilantro would be traditional. Italian or flat leaf parsley would be also be fabulous. Basil would also work well, because of the tomatoes in the dish.)

Method

Preheat your oven to 350 deg. F.

Liberally season the chicken with the NACL and pepper. Add two tablespoons of oil to your largest dutch oven, over high heat. Sear the chicken, about 5-6 minutes per side. Remove the chicken and set aside.

Pour off some of the accumulated fat in the pan, leaving about 3 tablespoons. Saute the onion until it is transparent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and other spices and saute another 2-3 minutes. Add the uncooked rice and toss so that all the grains are well coated. Cook another 2-3 minutes.

Deglaze the pan with about 2 cups of the liquid, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. After the fond is all dissolved, add the remaining liquid. Add the chicen back into the pan and stir. Cover.

Place the covered pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Right after you take the dish out of the oven, stir in the herbs. Serve and Enjoy!

2 comments:

Treasure State Jew said...

Let's talk about liquids. What would work, and what wouldn't?

Stay away from heavily tannic or colored liquids, like red wine. Other than than, the world is your oyster.

Oyster? Not kosher, but it would be fabulous in this dish.

For a sublime choice, try two cups of stock and two cups of a big American Chardonnay, a white Burgandy or (really fabulous) a dry Champagne.

For a more Oriental flavor, try some fish sauce, oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar, Mirin, etc.

Have fun!

Dave Budge said...

A man after my own heart. I'll try it.