Recipe: Arroz con Pollo

With New York on our mind, we were thinking about an awesome meal we had in Harlem at La Fonda Boricua when we visited a few years back. It’s a Puerto Rican place made famous in an episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay. Needless to say, Mr. Flay lost to the restaurant’s chef. His arroz con pollo just wasn’t up to snuff. And after we tried it, we weren’t surprised. It’s a simple comfort food dish that the local chef makes sing.

Fast forward to two days ago when we were watching an episode of The United States of Tara and the main character orders arroz con pollo. Cue the craving and the trip to the market. I found this recipe online but modified it quite a bit. Here’s how I did it. This was our first time making arroz con pollo at home, and it won’t be the last. It’s delicious, filling, relatively quick, and even healthy (just a little bacon, but not too much).

It takes about 45 minutes to make this dish from start to finish, so it’s not super-fast, but it’s not fussy either. While things fry and simmer, you can take care of other tasks. It won’t have you tied up the whole time it’s cooking. This recipe easily serves four. You could add a couple more pieces of chicken for an extra person or two.

Arroz con pollo

2 complete chicken legs (thigh and drumstick), skin on

4 strips bacon (I used a really smoky one, which was great for the final flavor)

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 medium white onion, chopped

2 small carrots, chopped

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

2 bay leaves

2 bell peppers, chopped (I used one orange and one red)

1 jalapeño, minced (optional)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup white rice (you could do brown too, just cook it a little longer)

2 cups stock or water

1 cup stewed tomatoes

4 sprigs fresh oregano (or 1 Tablespoon dried)

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 teaspoon salt

Black pepper to taste

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot (I used our cast iron pot. A dutch oven would be perfect also.), fry the bacon until crispy over medium heat. Remove the bacon, drain it, and crumble or cut it into small pieces. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the pot skin side down. Fry for about 5-7 minutes or until golden brown, then turn over and brown the other side, about 5-7 more minutes. At this point, you’re just searing the chicken for flavor, not actually cooking it. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside.

Add the olive oil and raise the heat to medium-high. Throw in the onions, carrot, cumin, and bay leaf and sautee, stirring constantly until starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, jalapeño, and bell peppers, and then sautee for another 3 minutes or so until very fragrant. Add the rice and fry, stirring constantly, for a few more minutes.

Pour in the stock along with the tomatoes, teaspoon of salt, oregano, bacon pieces, and half of the cilantro. Bring to a boil, stir to combine well, and then place the chicken in the broth in an even layer (it should be covered), then lower the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for about 25 minutes or until the rice is cooked. You don’t need to stir the dish while it cooks, just let it be. Wash your cutting board and knife while you wait. It’s a one pot meal with almost no dishes!

To serve, pile some rice on plate, place a piece of chicken on top, then sprinkle with cilantro. No sides needed. Enjoy!