Arroz con Pollo

Name: Arroz con Pollo
Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 drumstick, 1 thigh, and 1 cup rice mixture)
Ingredients: 6 chicken drumsticks (about 1 1/2 pounds), skinned; 6 chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 pounds), skinned; ½ teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano, divided; 1 tablespoon vegetable oil; 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice; 1 cup chopped onion; ½ cup chopped green bell pepper; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 1 teaspoon ground turmeric; ¾ teaspoon ground cumin; 1 ½ cups uncooked Arborio rice; ½ cup diced ham; 2 ¼ cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth; 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained; ½ cup frozen petite green peas, thawed; ½ cup chopped pimiento-stuffed green olives

10 Ratings
8 Reviews

Cuban chicken and rice (Arroz con Pollo) comes in many variations; however, it always starts with sofrito, a sautéed mixture of onion, bell pepper, and garlic. We use turmeric to color the rice yellow; other versions use annatto seeds or saffron.

By Marie Simmons

Recipe by Cooking Light March 2004

Gallery

Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Melanie J. Clarke

Recipe Summary

Yield:

6 servings (serving size: 1 drumstick, 1 thigh, and 1 cup rice mixture)

Nutrition Info

Directions

Step 1
Sprinkle chicken with salt, black pepper, and 1 teaspoon oregano. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 8 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove chicken from pan; drizzle with lime juice. Cover; keep warm.

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Step 2
Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic to pan. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon oregano, turmeric, and cumin, and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in rice and ham; cook 1 minute. Increase heat to medium. Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Add chicken, nestling into the rice mixture. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 18 minutes or until liquid is almost absorbed. Stir in peas; cover and cook 3 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand, uncovered, 5 minutes. Sprinkle with olives.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:

469 calories; calories from fat 20%; fat 10.2g; saturated fat 2.3g; mono fat 3.7g; poly fat 2.8g; protein 34.6g; carbohydrates 55.5g; fiber 4.1g; cholesterol 108mg; iron 3.1mg; sodium 797mg; calcium 75mg.

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mlr8575

02/22/2014

My husband is a very picky eater, particularly when it comes to international foods. He said that this dish was "really good, almost restaurant quality". I've been cooking for him since 2009 and this is the first time he's ever called anything "almost restaurant quality", so I am taking that as a compliment. I did make it with bone-in chicken breast instead of drumsticks and thighs. After browning, I roasted the chicken in the oven and then finished it in the rice for the last 20 minutes. I then put the chicken back in the oven for a few minutes to crisp up the skin. I don't eat chicken so I also made a version using Mahi Mahi instead of chicken and substituted portobellas for the ham in the rice. I browned the mahi and then added it back to the pan in the last 5-7 minutes to finish it off.

Jennradraz

07/05/2013

MMMM!! Really good!

kashsgranny

06/04/2012

EXCELLENT flavors. Those green olives really make it come to life. Exactly what I was looking for. I made the recipe as written, next time I will probably use chicken tenders or boneless breasts. My husband and daughter LOVED it. The entire pot was gone at the end of the day between the 3 of us! My daughter even printed the recipe so she can make it at home. Def a keeper.

chef1greg

02/20/2012

Good recipe - will make it again - the whole family loved it. I will use boneless chicken next time so that slow-cooked chicken bones don't get mixed in with the food.

mandofan

11/14/2011

Tasty. If halving the recipe, cut back cooking time for rice by about half, as well as the time for the rice and chicken to cook together.

jebavonct48

10/24/2011

Very good! Used chicken tenders instead. Had all the other ingredients on hand except ham so used bacon. So the chicken would not be over done, I did not add it to the rice for the first 10 minutes the rice cooked. Worked fine.

CAgirlinIA

09/22/2011

I had to modify out of necessity as I didn't want to go to the grocery. I used chicken BREAST, did not sprinkle with lime juice, used chopped RED pepper, had no peas nor ham and didn't want to use bacon as I was using that in the red beans I was serving with it. Still great! Wonderful flavor. Chicken is all gone but I will have the red beans on top of the rice for lunch and can't wait! I will make again.

pgarmar

11/05/2009

We loved this dish with some modifications... Instead of diced ham, we used bacon which gave it a great flavor. Will make again.

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Arroz con Pollo

Gallery

Recipe Summary

Ingredients

Directions

Nutrition Facts

Reviews (8)

All Reviews for Arroz con Pollo

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Arroz con Pollo

Gallery

Recipe Summary

Ingredients

Directions

Nutrition Facts

Reviews (8)

All Reviews for Arroz con Pollo