Cuban-Style Chicken & Rice
This dish is similar to the classic Cuban dish … Arroz Con Pollo, but rather the rice (and beans) here are cooked separately. This is a recipe to get you comfortable with the dish before trying it out in a large pot, where the rice is cooked with the chicken in one pot and served family style.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup olive oil for frying
- 4-6 chicken thighs, skin on
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1/2 tsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. poultry seasoning
- 2 large red pepper (or green bell), cored, seeded & sliced
- 1 large onion, chopped or sliced
- Dash flour
- 1 (14 oz.) can chopped tomato
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/2 tsp. cumin
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 tsp. lime juice
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Steps
In a large pan, add the oil and heat over medium heat. Add the seasoned chicken to the pan and cook on both sides for a total of 30 minutes.
Remove the chicken to a plate and add the peppers to the pan and begin to sauté them in a small amount of the chicken fat. As they become soft, add the onions and sauté them as well, until they become translucent in about 2-3 minutes.
Add in a dash of flour to the pan and mix all the ingredients. Add the tomatoes and the juices to the pan and lightly mix. Continue to heat this mixture while adding the garlic, cumin, bay leaf, and thyme.
Turn the heat down to low-medium; add the chicken back to the pan, add some lime juice, top with cilantro, and cover. Simmer this for 15-20 minutes. When done serve with black beans and rice, some fried plantains, and enjoy.
[Note: For the traditional dish of Arroz Con Pollo, use a Dutch-oven style pot and brown the chicken on both sides, then later add yellow or Arborio rice (2 cups.) and chicken stock (3 cups.) to the the pot with the chicken thighs. You then cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes, adding 1 cup of frozen peas near the end for a delicious one-pot family meal.]
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