Really Good Arroz con Pollo



Arroz con Pollo is just Spanish for Rice with Chicken.

Does that mean you can take a chicken and cook some rice, put them together and call it arroz con pollo?

You may, but the food police might arrest you.

I haven't made this traditional Spanish dish in years.
I have seen so many different Latino versions, Spanish versions and bad American versions.

Here is my version, and it's pretty damn good.



Stacey's Arroz con Pollo:

8 chicken thighs, with skin and bones
salt and pepper
olive oil for the dutch oven

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 slices of smoked ham (or bacon) chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 generous pinch of crumbled saffron threads
1 tsp of sweet paprika
1 red or green pepper, chopped

2 cups of chicken stock
1 1/2 cups of chopped canned tomatoes

1 cup of long grain rice (I had jasmine rice, not really traditional in this dish, but it came out great).

garnish:
chopped fresh parsley
defrosted frozen peas
roasted red pepper strips for garnish (or pimento)

Season your chicken thighs w/ salt and pepper.
In a heavy dutch oven (Le Creuset is good) heat olive oil and add your chicken and brown on both sides for about 8 minutes until skin is getting crispy.
Remove chicken from pan with tongs and set aside.



Pour off all of the fat except for about 2 tablespoons.
Now add your onions, smoked ham, garlic and peppers. Saute a few minutes and add your spices: saffron, cumin, salt and paprika. Coat the onion mixture with the spice mixture for a minute.



Now add your stock and tomatoes and bring to a boil.
Add your 1 cup of rice to the pot and place your chicken pieces back in the pot on top of the rice.





Simmer this on low, partially covered for about 25-30 minutes, scraping up the brown bits that have stuck (yummy soccarat) to the bottom of the pan once or twice.



Garnish with peas, parsley and roasted red pepper strips.



Comments

HungryinSW said…
Now that looks festive!
meseidy said…
That is looking pretty yummy. I put bay leaves and olives in mine.
kat said…
That does look pretty darn good & I like that you used thighs, they have enough flavor to stand up in a dish like this
StaceyEsq said…
You had me at "Arroz!" I will make this on Sunday night! I will! By the way, what's up with saffron threads? Why the hell are they so expensive?!

Have a lovely weekend! Stay cool - we're supposed to have a heat wave!
Looks so good! I've never cooked anything even remotely Spanish flavored, but love the tastes. I'm putting this aside to make next week!
LaDue & Crew said…
I want this for breakfast! I only have one small pinch of saffron left though. Think a small one will be ok?
This looks delicous and not at all complicated. Great flavors. It reminds me of paella.
Karen said…
This looks so good. I've got some chicken thighs in the freezer... will make it soon!
Pam said…
Bookmarked! I've always wanted to make this - your recipe looks perfect.
Maria said…
Such a colorful dish, I am sure it is tasty too!
The Food Hunter said…
That looks great. I've never had it but can't wait to try it now.
Memória said…
YUM! I love Arroz con pollo (literally means: "Rice with chicken"). I just need to get my hands on (expensive) saffron threads. Thank you for this recipe!
Erin said…
Hi Stacy, great blog! This looks like a great version of a classic dish. I'm not always a huge saffron fan, but this might be worth trying. Thanks for sharing your version!
The Duo Dishes said…
A good saffron and paprika can make this dish sing. Great recipe!
Beautiful color on that sauce, I could almost smell everything from here! Save me some, I'll bring the Sangria!!
Juliana said…
Such a nice dish...the saffron really give a nice color to it! Love the pictures!
noble pig said…
This would really hit the spot for me!
Ciao Chow Linda said…
You never cease to amaze me. From French to Spanish, everything looks fantastique - or muy bien in this case.
Amy B said…
I love dishes that look like this, like one's Spanish grandma dropped in to make supper for you because you've been so busy at work (a favorite fantasy, I wish I had a relative who could cook!)
RecipeGirl said…
You did such a nice job putting this together. It really can be kind of a boring dish, but I love the flavors and colors that you brought into it. Yum!
Peter M said…
I love saffron and the brilliant colour it gives. Others like your food too. Karen, above said she would make it and did...no need being "insecure" about your food.
Culinary Cory said…
This is actually something I grew up having a lot of as a child. It's a great dish for a large family because it makes a large pot. Yours brought me back to my younger days.
Looks true to it's name!
Memória said…
I made this yesterday and ate leftovers today. Aside from the saffron (azafrán), I really enjoyed this dish! I will definitely make it again. Thanks!
Anonymous said…
Hi Stacey,

I made the arroz con pollo for dinner 2 nights ago. It was such a huge hit. My neighbor stopped by to borrow something. He wound up staying for dinner along with his wife & child. It was fantastic & super easy! Thanks! Meghan
Amy B said…
Just wanted to let you know I have been using your recipe almost every week since you posted it. One of my co-workers commented on how delicious it smelled as I was re-heating it at work so I printed the recipe off your site and gave her a couple pinches of my saffron to get her started. Muchos gracias for the excellent recipe!
I know this is an old post, but I've been browsing through your blog for the last two days, picking out recipes I want to try. They're all so great looking - though I'm admittedly too much of a picky eater for some of it.

I wanted to respond to this one because as a Cuban I've had this dish at least once a month since I was a baby. For those of you wanting to try this but can't afford things like saffron, we always use this orange powder called bijol (or achiote). It's extremely inexpensive, made in Cuba, and brings the color and flavor of saffron without the cost.

Good job!