Arroz con Pollo
Or “Chicken-n-rice.” :) This is another one of those wing it recipes….but it’s very forgiving, and very versatile…you can sub other meat or seafood for the chicken, and incorporate whatever vegetables you have on hand. I love this one because it’s a no fuss, easy and quick meal for when I’m really not in the mood to cook (like earlier this week when I was under the weather). If you don’t have saffron, feel free to either omit it, use a little yellow food coloring or tumeric to color the rice. This week my grocer had chicken drummies on sale for a fabulous price, so that’s what I used, but you could also use a whole chicken, cut up.
Ingredients:
2 pounds (1 kilo) chicken pieces
a little olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
saffron
1 beef double boullion cube
2 tablespoons tomato paste
thyme…to taste…I added about 1 teaspoon or so?
bay leaf
2 cups rice
4 cups water
Preparation:
Brown chicken pieces in olive oil and season with salt and pepper (they don’t have to be all the way done, just browned).
Add vegetables and continue to sautee until translucent.
Add saffron, rice, thyme and bay, and stir around for about a minute.
Add water, boullion and tomato paste.
Stir well and bring to a boil over moderately high heat.
Boil 5 minutes, then cover and reduce heat to low, cooking another 10 minutes. Do NOT lift the lid!
Remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes before lifting the lid.
Serve….you can serve with lemon wedges and alioli like paella if you like…it’s good that way. 
