Arroz Con Pollo (Spanish Chicken and Rice)

Source: simplyrecipes.com

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Yield: Serve 8 people

Ingredients:

Chicken

8 pieces of chicken thighs

3 tbsp olive oil

1 cup of flour for dredging

Salt

Pepper

Paprika (or red chile powder, or chipotle chile powder)

Rice

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

3 cups of white rice

6 cups of chicken stock

1 cup of diced fresh tomatoes (or 1 cup of salsa)

2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp salt

1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables

Instructions:

1. Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Put the flour in a wide bowl, mix in a generous sprinkling of salt, pepper, and paprika. In another bowl, whip two eggs well. Dredge the chicken pieces in the egg mixture and then lightly in the flour mixture and put in the pan to brown. (This part can be skipped, you can just marinade the chicken with salt, pepper, and paprika for at least 1/2 an hour). Cook a few minutes on each side, just enough so that the chicken has browned, Remove from pan and set aside.

2. Add the rice to the pan to brown. Add a little more olive oil if necessary. Stir first to coat the rice with the olive oil in the pan. Then don't stir too much or you will prevent it from browning. Let the rice brown and then stir a little to let more of it brown (about 1-2 minutes). Then add the onion and garlic. Cook the onion, garlic, and rice mixture, stirring frequently until the onions have softened, about 4 minutes.

3. Place the chicken pieces, skin side up, on top of the rice.

4. In a separate bowl, mixed together the chicken stock, tomatoes, salt, and oregano. Pour the stock mixture over the rice and chicken. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and cover. Let cook for 20-25 minutes, depending on the type of rice and the instructions on the rice package, until the rice and chicken are done.

5. Remove the chicken, fluff the rice with a fork. Mix in the frozen bag of vegetables and close the lid for about 5 minutes. Add more salt and pepper to taste. 

Note: Add in crushed red chili pepper for additional spice, Put the chicken back and sprinkle with diced fresh red bell pepper for beautiful presentation.