Arroz con Pollo

Arroz con Pollo is a traditional Latin American dish, found all over the Spanish speaking world. I really like how cooking everything together infuses the flavors very well. This gives it an almost stew-like quality, without having to spend hours cooking. Arroz con Pollo calls to mind the flavors of paella, a dish which no doubt shares some roots. As is often the case for a dish which I have no previous experience making, I looked around the internet for ideas, and came up with this simple and easy version.

Ingredients

Chicken

• 6 chicken legs or thighs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• Olive oil

Rice

• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup diced tomatoes in juice
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
• Olive oil

Instructions

Mix together the dry rub ingredients, and coat the outside of each piece. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan, medium high heat. Cover then pan and brown the chicken on all sides. It doesn't need to be cooked through at this point. Once the outsides are cooked, set aside. If your chicken pieces are especially big, you may want to spend a little extra time here to make sure they are cooked through at the end.

Add a little more oil, turn the heat down, and cook the onion until softened. After a few minutes, add the garlic, too. Add the rice to the pan, and more oil if needed. Toast the rice for a few minutes, until opaque. Stir frequently to avoid burning. Add chicken stock, tomatoes, and oregano. 

At this point, I switched from the saute pan to a bigger pot to prevent it from overflowing. If your sauté pan is big and deep, you may not need to. Bring the whole thing to a boil and submerge the chicken, as well. Once boiling, back the heat off to low, and simmer for 20 minutes. Check on the rice. Be careful of grains getting stuck to the top parts of the chicken and not cooking properly. If you find the rice is too firm, add a bit more stock and cook a little longer.

Serve with wedges of lemon to squeeze over the rice. Negra Modelo is a tasty Mexican dark lager that is quite appropriate for this meal. And if the guys over at BeerAdvocate have anything to say about it, avoid the lime.