11 December 2012

Arroz Con Pollo (Mexican Chicken & Rice)

This is a recipe I have wanted to try for a very long time, but all the versions I found included some spice mixes that are not available outside of USA (typical haha!) so I was keeping my eyes peeled for one I could make without them.

Cue my friend Fien, whose house I was at last week.  We were thinking about what to have for dinner, and looking through cookbooks to find something because her partner is gluten-free so obviously had to be something he could eat.  Then I saw this and was like "let's make this!  I've always wanted to try it!".  


So all our good intentions were there.  And then, just after the slowcooker was turned on and we just sat down to start watching a movie... powercut.  -_-  Less than ideal.  By the time it was eventually turned back on, it was almost 8pm, and dinner would need a further 2 or 3 hours to cook! By which stage, we had given up and got pizza.

The dish however, did keep cooking, and when it was done, was put into leftover containers, for Fien and Hamlin to eat the following night, and they said it was delicious.  So tonight, I made it at my house too!

INGREDIENTS
1 chicken (3-4lb/1kg ish) cut into serving pieces or 6 chicken pieces of your choice (I used chicken breast cut into large cubes)
1/3 cup olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red capsicum, diced
1 tablsepoon paprika
1 tablespoon chilli powder (or less - it is very strong!)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock (gluten-free if you're intolerant)
1 bay leaf
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 cup peas
salt and pepper

METHOD


  • Put tomatoes, wine, stock and bayleaf in slow cooker
  • Brown chicken (but don't cook all the way through) and add to slow cooker
  • Heat oil in a pan
  • Add onion, garlic, and capsicum
  • Cook 3 min
  • Reduce heat to low and stir in paprika, chilli powder, cumin, and oregano
  • Cook 1 min, stirring constantly
  • Scrape mixture into slowcooker and stir well
  • Cook on LOW for 4-6 hours, or HIGH 2-3 hours, or until chicken is almost cooked through.
  • An hour before it finishes, cook rice in a pan and some oil, until it goes opaque (maybe 3 or 4 minutes), stirring often
  • Pour rice into slowcooker and raise heat to HIGH if cooking on LOW
  • 15 minutes before end, add peas
  • Salt and pepper to taste, and serve hot

 
 To be honest, while it was nice, it didn't taste as strongly or flavourfully as the smell of it cooking.  It was spicy, and I even skimped on the chilli, so you don't need much chilli to get a kick.  It was filling, but the chicken was a little dry, so in future I may either add more stock, or use bigger pieces of chicken.



Recipe: in "Gluten-Free Slow Cooking" by Ellen Brown, pg. 133

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