Arroz con Pollo (Rice with Chicken)

Cook’s Country August/September 2016 Issue

Ingredients
6 (5-7oz) bone in chicken thighs, trimmed
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves and stems, chopped (OPTIONAL if NOT MAKING SERVING SAUCE)
1 white onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 Cubanelle pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped (¾ cup)
5 garlic cloves, chopped coarse
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ cup mayonnaise (OPTIONAL if NOT MAKING SERVING SAUCE)
3 ½ tablespoon lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving
2 cups medium grain rice, rinsed (I use cal rose)
1 tablespoon Goya Sazon with Coriander and Annatto
2 ½ cups chicken broth
¼ cup pimento-stuffed green olives, halved
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
2 bay leaves
½ cup frozen peas, thawed (optional)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
salt and pepper

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 dF.
2. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
3. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering.
4. Add chicken to pot, skin side down and cook without moving it until skin is crispy and golden, 7 to 9 minutes.
5. Flip chicken and continue to cook until golden on the second side, 7 to 9 minutes.
6. Transfer chicken to plate, remove and discard the chicken skin.
7. DO THIS WHILE CHICKEN IS COOKING, IF SKIPPING MAYONNAISE-HERB SAUCE. Process cilantro, ½ cup onion, Cubanelle, garlic and cumin the food processor until finely chopped, about 20 seconds scraping down bowl as needed.
8. Transfer sofrito to a bowl
9. OPTIONAL Process mayonnaise, 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice, ⅛ teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons sofrito into now-empty processor until almost smooth, about 30 seconds.
10. Transfer mayonnaise-herb sauce to a small bowl, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve.
11. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from the pot and heat over medium heat until shimmering.
12. Add remaining ½ cup onion and cook until softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
13. Stir in rice and Sazon and cook until the edges of rice begin to turn translucent, about 2 minutes.
14. Stir in broth, olives, capers, bay leaves, and remaining sofrito, remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper, scraping up any browned bits.
15. Nestle chicken into pot along with any accumulated juices and bring to vigorous simmer.
16. Cover, transfer to oven, and bake for 20 minutes.
17. Transfer pot to wire rack and let stand, covered, for 15 minutes.
18. Fluff rice with a fork and stir in peas, if using.
19. Discard bay leaves.
20. OPTIONAL Serve with mayonnaise-herb sauce and lemon wedges.

Notes

I made this for the first time on October 28, 2017. It turned out pretty well, we both liked it. I didn’t think Wendy would like it because of the olives and capers, but they were just a nice note and even she had to admit they were good in there. I couldn’t find Cubanelle peppers in the local Albertson’s, so I used Poblano peppers instead. They have a tiny touch of heat and are not disgusting fruits of Satanic grossness like regular green bell peppers. I actually think the dish would be better with Hatch or even Jalapeno peppers, for more kick, but wife is sensitive to heat. I used Calrose medium grain rice, the article that goes with this cautions against using long grain or short grain rice.

Also, I would skip the mayonnaise-herb sauce, it didn’t add much. Oh, at least in my food processor, do this in the smaller bowls.

I think it appropriate to change up the order of operations here. There is essentially 14-18 minutes of downtime while the chicken is cooking. The Cook’s Country recipe assumes you will make the mayonnaise-herb and is giving that sauce maximum time to come together. If you are going to skip the sauce, make the sofrito during the chicken cooking time, assuming you have done your mis en place. I have re-ordered the recipe to reflect this, so be warned. Lastly, you can find the Goya Sazon with Coriander and Annatto in the Mexican section of a supermarket. There are a few different versions of it, make sure it’s the for-meat one with Coriander and Annatto. I’m sure this dish won’t taste right without it. It comes in little packets in a small box. If you can’t find it in the grocery store, then your store sucks worse than Albertsons, you poor bastard. In that case get thee on to the Supermercado and get some Goya Sazon. We will make this again.

Made this again, January 2018. Fantastic. Eat. This. Shit.