Arroz con Pollo

Saturday afternoons are my favorite. You still have one more day before the work/school week starts, and it's completely acceptable to stay in your sweats all day. It's also the perfect time to try out new recipes, especially ones like this that are a bit more involved than others. I'd been eyeing this recipe for over a year now, and was excited to have the opportunity to try it out. This was about a month ago…oops.

Nevertheless, I'm here now and am excited to share. For this recipe, I broke down a chicken for the first time, which was easier than I thought! I used this video to learn how to do it. If you like all the parts of the chicken, this is really the most economical way to do it. I've since decided that I really only care for dark meat, so I think I would just stick to legs and thighs next time. From start to finish, this took a few hours (including the time it takes to marinade the chicken), making it a perfect weekend kitchen project. We happily ate the leftovers for days! Enjoy!

Arroz con Pollo

Ingredients

for the marinade:

1/4 cup fresh orange juice (about one orange)

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon canola oil

for the chicken and rice:

1 whole 4-4 1/2 pound chicken 

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided

2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes

2 green bell peppers, diced

2 cups yellow onions (about 1 1/2 small onions or 1 large)

2 garlic cloves

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

1.5 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon saffron, crushed

1 cup canned diced tomatoes (fire roasted is preferable)

1 bay leaf

3 cups chicken broth

2 cups white rice, uncooked

1/2 cup green peas

1/3 cup pimento stuffed green olives, roughly chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 400F.

Spread cherry tomatoes on a lined baking sheet and drizzle with a teaspoon of olive oil. Roast for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and set aside.

Break down your chicken, and place in a large shallow dish (I used a deep 9x13 pan). Mix together the marinade ingredients and pour over chicken. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for an hour in the refrigerator.

Once chicken is done marinating, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over high heat in a heavy 5 1/2 quart ovenproof pot. Once the oil is hot, brown chicken in batches on both sides, about 3 minutes per side (it will not be fully cooked, just browning it for now!). Remove chicken and set aside.

After all the chicken is browned, add the onions, diced green pepper and garlic to the hot oil. Saute veggies for about five minutes. Add cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, and crushed saffron to the veggies and mix well. Add roasted cherry tomatoes and diced tomatoes and mix. Add the bay leaf.

Pour chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add the rice, stirring well to combine.

Lay the chicken pieces in the pot, cover tightly with a lid and place in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. After baking, rice should have absorbed most of the liquid and be fluffy. The chicken pieces should be completely done.

Once cooked, stir in the peas and chopped olives. 

Recipe Source: adapted from Eat Live Run