Arroz con Pollo — Print Recipe

Tender chicken cooked with saffron-yellow rice, peas, peppers, and beer in one glorious pot. Cuba's ultimate weeknight comfort meal.

Ingredients

1.5kg chicken pieces (thighs and drumsticks), skin on
2 cups long-grain white rice, rinsed
1 large onion, finely diced
1 green bell pepper, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
400g canned diced tomatoes
3 cups chicken broth
120ml dry white wine
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp saffron threads or bijol powder
1 tsp dried oregano
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup pimento-stuffed green olives
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Roasted red pepper strips for garnish

Instructions

1 Season the chicken pieces generously with salt, pepper, cumin, and oregano. Let them sit at room temperature for twenty minutes. Heat the olive oil in a large deep skillet or caldero over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken on all sides for eight minutes until golden and crispy-skinned. Remove and set aside.
2 In the same pot with the rendered chicken fat, add the diced onion and both bell peppers. Cook for six minutes until softened and starting to caramelize. Add the minced garlic and cook for one minute more. Stir in the saffron threads, letting them bloom in the hot oil for thirty seconds.
3 Pour in the white wine and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Let the wine reduce by half over two minutes. Add the diced tomatoes with their juices and cook for three minutes to concentrate the tomato flavour into the aromatic base.
4 Add the rinsed rice to the pot and stir to coat every grain in the fragrant sofrito. Pour in the chicken broth and stir well. Nestle the browned chicken pieces into the rice, pushing them down so they are partially submerged. Add the bay leaves and olives.
5 Bring everything to a boil, then immediately reduce heat to the lowest setting and cover tightly. Cook for twenty-five minutes without lifting the lid. The steam trapped inside cooks both the rice and chicken simultaneously, and the bottom develops a prized crispy rice layer.
6 Remove the lid, scatter the frozen peas over the top, replace the lid, and cook for five more minutes until the peas are bright green and heated through. Remove from heat and let rest covered for ten minutes. Remove the bay leaves.
7 Fluff the saffron-yellow rice gently around the chicken pieces with a fork. Serve directly from the pot, garnished with roasted red pepper strips. Each portion should include a piece of chicken atop a mound of golden rice studded with olives and sweet peas.