One Dish Chicken and Rice (Asopao de Pollo)

By jdwooten

This Puerto Rican one-dish chicken and rice stew is rich in flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 1/4 pound(s) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 4 Anaheim or poblano chile peppers, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon(s) dried oregano, crushed
• 1 teaspoon(s) sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1 can(s) tomato sauce
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 can(s) pimientos, rinsed
• 8 pimiento-stuffed green olives, sliced
• 2 tablespoon(s) capers, rinsed
• 8 cup(s) water
• 2 1/2 cup(s) brown rice
• 2/3 cup(s) packed chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

Step 1

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken, chiles, onion, oregano, paprika and salt and cook, stirring, until the onions have softened, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add tomato sauce, tomato, pimientos, olives, capers and water and bring to a boil. Stir in rice; return to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the sauce is thick, the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through, 35 to 45 minutes. Stir in cilantro and serve.

Note: Anaheim chiles (a.k.a. New Mexico chiles) are 7 to 10 inches long, ripen from green to red and are mildly spicy. Poblano peppers (sometimes called pasilla peppers) are dark green in color, about 6 inches long and can be fiery or relatively mild; there's no way to tell until you taste them. The two can be used interchangeably and are found at most large supermarkets.