So there I was in the early 1990s, living in Atlanta and Mimi was in Washington and by coincidence we both ended up in Miami at the same time. For her, that always means she gets to visit with her (very Cuban) family. Long story short – I went with her to visit her cousins René and Cristina, Renecito and Christopher and Aunt Inés (Tia Piti). And much to my delight, Cristina made the most delectable arroz con pollo (Cuban chicken with rice) I’d ever eaten.
The food had so many layers of flavor, and then to wash it down with a beer was just the perfect pairing. Cristina later confided to me that she puréed carrots and celery so the boys would not realize they were eating vegetables and her “secret ingredient” is beer. The happiest development here is that this is one of those one-pot meals that’s so easy that it has become a regular favorite here at home.
So here is another great dish that’s easy-peasy and yummy and nutritious. Give it a try and let me know how you like it.
Ingredients1.5 pounds of chicken
2 cups of rice
1 large onion diced (or 1 package of frozen diced onions)
6 celery stalks
4 carrots
1 pinch of saffron (.014 oz or appx. 20 filaments)
1 chicken boullion cube
2 cans of Swanson chicken broth
1 beer
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups of rice
1 large onion diced (or 1 package of frozen diced onions)
6 celery stalks
4 carrots
1 pinch of saffron (.014 oz or appx. 20 filaments)
1 chicken boullion cube
2 cans of Swanson chicken broth
1 beer
1 tbsp olive oil
Start by dicing the chicken meat. The chicken can be either white meat or dark meat. 
We usually just buy boneless chicken breasts (1 package), but you can make this dish with boneless thigh meat, too. Either way, either buy it boneless or remove the bones (I just think it’s annoying to have to pick out bones from your food).
Drizzle the olive oil in the bottom of the pot and sauté the onions until they are transparent. When the onions are done, add the chicken, stir it all together and cook it on a low flame. While the chicken cooks slowly, start dicing and slicing the celery and carrots.
Once the chicken is cooked, crumble the boullion cube and stir it into the chicken-onion mixture. Then add the beer and bring it to a boil. Add the carrots and celery as a layer on top of the chicken and let the chicken stew slowly in the beer on a low flame while the carrots & celery get steamed and drip their vegetable goodness onto the chicken.
After about 10 minutes of stewing & steaming, stir the celery-carrots into the chicken so it’s all mixed together. At this point, sprinkle the saffron into the pot and stir it in. Rinse the rice and then put that into the pot and stir it all together. Add the chicken broth and then cover the pot to bring it all very slowly to a boil.
Cook it about 10 minutes or so (as long as it takes for the rice to cook), and then stir it all together. Even after the rice has cooked, there still should be a little liquid left in the pot, so cover it and let it cook a little longer and stir occasionally so that it’s not soupy but is still very moist (like the consistency of a risotto). Leave it covered and let it sit for a few minutes on the stove while all the flavors mingle.
Serve it family-style with big dollops on the plate. This is good stick-to-your-ribs food that's awesome on a chilly or rainy day. You can serve it with whatever side dish you like, but this is truly a full meal in a pot. It goes best with beer, but any white wine works fine, too.
A word about saffron:
Saffron is a rare spice that can be quite expensive because it comes from the stigmas in the little flowers of a little crocus native to Asia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saffron. Fortunately, you only need a little bit to make most dishes, including arroz con pollo. If you find saffron that does not seem more expensive than the other spices on the rack, it probably isn’t really saffron.
With that said, I found that the most reliable and reasonably-spiced saffron comes from a spice company in Miami called Badia. I discovered Badia when we lived in Tampa and the Publix supermarket chain started carrying their spices. All their spices are high quality and reasonably priced, but their saffron is 2-3 times cheaper than McCormick or other brands. This package is enough for a pot of arroz con pollo and it cost $4.99 at Publix. There are no Publix stores in North Carolina, so when I find one when I am traveling, I go in and stock up on saffron.
¡Buen provecho!
We usually just buy boneless chicken breasts (1 package), but you can make this dish with boneless thigh meat, too. Either way, either buy it boneless or remove the bones (I just think it’s annoying to have to pick out bones from your food).Drizzle the olive oil in the bottom of the pot and sauté the onions until they are transparent. When the onions are done, add the chicken, stir it all together and cook it on a low flame. While the chicken cooks slowly, start dicing and slicing the celery and carrots.
Once the chicken is cooked, crumble the boullion cube and stir it into the chicken-onion mixture. Then add the beer and bring it to a boil. Add the carrots and celery as a layer on top of the chicken and let the chicken stew slowly in the beer on a low flame while the carrots & celery get steamed and drip their vegetable goodness onto the chicken.
After about 10 minutes of stewing & steaming, stir the celery-carrots into the chicken so it’s all mixed together. At this point, sprinkle the saffron into the pot and stir it in. Rinse the rice and then put that into the pot and stir it all together. Add the chicken broth and then cover the pot to bring it all very slowly to a boil.
Cook it about 10 minutes or so (as long as it takes for the rice to cook), and then stir it all together. Even after the rice has cooked, there still should be a little liquid left in the pot, so cover it and let it cook a little longer and stir occasionally so that it’s not soupy but is still very moist (like the consistency of a risotto). Leave it covered and let it sit for a few minutes on the stove while all the flavors mingle.
Serve it family-style with big dollops on the plate. This is good stick-to-your-ribs food that's awesome on a chilly or rainy day. You can serve it with whatever side dish you like, but this is truly a full meal in a pot. It goes best with beer, but any white wine works fine, too.
A word about saffron:
Saffron is a rare spice that can be quite expensive because it comes from the stigmas in the little flowers of a little crocus native to Asia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saffron. Fortunately, you only need a little bit to make most dishes, including arroz con pollo. If you find saffron that does not seem more expensive than the other spices on the rack, it probably isn’t really saffron.
With that said, I found that the most reliable and reasonably-spiced saffron comes from a spice company in Miami called Badia. I discovered Badia when we lived in Tampa and the Publix supermarket chain started carrying their spices. All their spices are high quality and reasonably priced, but their saffron is 2-3 times cheaper than McCormick or other brands. This package is enough for a pot of arroz con pollo and it cost $4.99 at Publix. There are no Publix stores in North Carolina, so when I find one when I am traveling, I go in and stock up on saffron.¡Buen provecho!
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