A showstopping entrée, made easy.
Arroz con Pollo
Chef Claudia Galofre-Krevat
8-10
30 minutes
1 hours 30 minutes
Latin American
Main Dishes
From the Chef: There are numerous recipes for a Spanish-inspired dish like paella. Typically, it includes short-grain rice or bomba, with whole pieces of chicken, shredded chorizo, and sometimes beer or sherry. However, I will use my friend Yolanda's mother's recipe, which Juanita swears is the real deal. Although I never told her, our family cook Mamaesco also believes that Juanita's recipe is original.
Ingredients
For the Adobo
- 1 tbsp lemon pepper seasoning
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder or flakes
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp parsley flakes
- 1 tbsp achiote powder
- ½ tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp salt
For the Rice
- 3 tbsp Adobo (recipe above)
- 3-4 lbs chicken breasts or thighs, bone-in and skin-on
- 1 medium yellow onion, quartered
- ½ yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 4 cups chicken broth, homemade or canned
- 1 cup light beer, like a lager
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup chopped cilantro leaves
- 6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 3 cups white rice
- 1 cup fresh or frozen peas
- 1 cup carrots, finely diced
- 8 oz green beans, trimmed and halved
- ½ cup ketchup
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- ½ green and ½ red bell pepper, cored, seeded and thinly sliced
- 1 cup pimento-stuffed olives
Directions
- Add the chicken, quartered onions, 1 cup of chicken broth, beer, adobo, Worcestershire sauce, half of the cilantro, and garlic to a large pot or skillet on high heat.
- Bring to a boil, reducing the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through,~30-35 minutes. Add more water if needed.
- Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside to cool; once cool, shred and leave aside.
- Strain the broth into a bowl through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding the onion pieces.
- Pour the concentrated broth and the remaining 3 cups of broth into a measuring cup and add water to make 6 cups of liquid.
- Return it to the pot or skillet and add the rice, carrots, green beans, tomato paste, ketchup, and salt.
- Stir well and bring to a boil. Let the liquid evaporate to just below the level of the rice for about 10 minutes.
- Reduce the heat, add the peas, and cover until the rice is tender and fully cooked, ~25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the peppers and the remaining sliced onions and cook until they're tender, ~8 minutes. Shred the cooked chicken meat, discard the skin and bones, and add the chicken to the vegetables. Season with 1-2 more tbsp of Adobo or as needed. Taste for salt and adjust.
- Cook until it is heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork and add the chicken and vegetables to the rice mixture.
- Stir in the olives, sprinkle with the remaining cilantro, and serve.