The Hungry Eleven

Arroz Con Pollo recipe

Here's the recipe for the arroz con pollo we made last week.    We modified the version that's in the Joy of Cooking by adding less broth, and canned diced tomatoes.  We also added both ham and pancetta (mmmm....bacon) - and in greater proportions than what is called for.  Lastly, we used kalamata olives instead of the green spanish olives because, frankly, that's all we had.  The recipe really lends itself to variation and hopefully you liked our take on it, but if not...make it how you want.  Corn? sure.  roasted red peppers?  absolutely.  capers?  Why not!  The sky's the limit....er...or at least the pantry is.

Ingredients
3.5 - 4.5 lbs of chicken parts (we did drumsticks and thighs)
2 Cups chopped onions
1 red pepper diced
1 orange pepper diced
1 slice of ham (sliced on 5 or 6) finely diced
pancetta (the more, the merrier)
2 cups long grain white rice
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 can (28 oz) of petite diced tomatoes
pinch of oregano
1 cup of frozen peas
1/2 cup of chopped olives (your choice)

Important pre-cooking info:

• This is a one pan meal, but you'll need a fairly wide and deep pan.   Ideally this pan is NOT a non-stick pan as you want to get the flavor out of the crispy chicken skin and into the rice.  The pan should be large enough to accomodate all of the chicken parts in one layer and have a tight fitting lid.  When we made this for coop we used 3 18 inch diameter, 2-3 inch deep pans.
• It's always a good idea to do all of your chopping and prep ahead of time, but with this dish it's an imperative.  Heather thinks that this is a big PITA to make, but I find it goes really easily when all of the prep work is done in advance...the only real active cooking time in the dish is the chicken part.  The rest of it is add, stir and cover.
• The times below are an estimate...I tend to let things go longer on the stove than Joy does, so you may be able to complete this dish more quickly (and, I suppose, less mushily).

Phase 1:  Brown the chicken (10-15 minutes)

1. heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over med-high heat.
2. While that's heating up, rinse the chicken, pat it dry and season with salt and pepper (we season it a ton since a lot of it will fall off in the pan).
3. Brown the chicken on all sides.  It doesn't need to be cooked, just brown...the crispier you can get it at this stage, the better.
4. Once it's brown remove to a nearby plate and reduce the heat to medium low.

Phase 2: cook the veggies and fixins (10-15 minutes)

1. Pour off some of the excess fat, but leave some in the pan.
2. Add the pancetta and cook until crisp (5 minutes or so).
3. Add the onions, peppers and ham and cook until the vegetables are soft (5 -10 minutes).

Phase 3: cook the rice (20 minutes)

1. Into the same pan, add the rice and stire until the grains are coated with the oil and fat and the rice is mixed in with the other contents of the pan.
2. Then add the garlic, salt, pepper and paprika cooking for another minute or so.   Add the chicken stock and the tomatoes and whatever seasonings you want.
3. Bring to a boil over low heat, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon or spatula.
4. Add the chicken pieces back into the pan, nestling the pieces into the rice and veggies.
5. Cover tightly, bring the heat down to low and let it cook for 20 minutes....and now you can clean all your bowls and whatnot.

Phase 4: add the color and serve (10-15 minutes)

1. Add the frozen peas (right out of the bag, not thawed) and olives into the mix.
2. Cover and let it cook for another 10-15 minutes or however long it takes for the rice to be tender.