Sunday Suppers/What's for dinner

One of the best dishes I was introduced while living in South Florida is Arroz con Pollo (literally rice with chicken.) And of course the best place to get this dish is in a cuban restaurant on south beach, Puerta Sagua. The only catch is that you can't just walk in and order it, you have to order it ahead of time. Arroz con pollo takes at least an hour to cook...that doesn't include prep time. I saw Arroz con pollo being made on ATK recently, but I was skeptical about their recipe as the show is filmed in the New England area. I decided to give it a try anyway. I made a few minor changes to the recipe in my attempt to make it more authentic tasting. This recipe took me (from start to eat time) about 2 1/2 hours to make. Here it is, my changes are in red. 

 Arroz con Pollo (original recipe from America's Test Kitchen) 

6 medium cloves garlic, minced 

1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp dried oregano 

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar, plus 2 tsp.  

2 tsp black pepper 

8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (3 1/2 to 4 pounds), trimmed of excess fat 

2 tbsp olive oil 

1 medium onion, chopped fine 

1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped fine  + 1 red bell pepper, stemmed seeded and chopped fine 

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes 

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro 

1 can (8 ounces) diced tomato sauce 

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth 

1/4 cup water (there's a note saying for long grain rice to use 3/4 cup of water, but I'd say use an additional 1 cup of water) 

3 cups medium-grain rice (I used long grain rice) 

1/2 cup green olives (Manzanilla), pitted and halved (I used about 2/3 cup olives and some of the brine that they come in.) 

1 tbsp capers 

1/2 cup jarred pimentos, cut into 1/4 by 2-inch strips (I did not add this ingredient as I just added some of the pimentos from the olives and I had added the red bell pepper.) 

1 tsp Sazon Goya con Afrazon. (Next time, I'll add an entire packet.) 

1. Place garlic and salt on a large bowl; using a rubber spatula, mix to make a paste. Add oregano, 1 tablespoon vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper to garlic-salt mixture; stir to combine. 

2. Place chicken in bowl with marinade. Coat chicken pieces evenly with marinade; set aside. 

3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, green pepper, and pepper flakes; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften, 4 to 8 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons cilantro; stir to combine. Push vegetables to sides of pot and increase heat to medium-high. Add chicken to clearing in center of pot, skin side down, in even layer. Cook, without moving chicken, until outer layer of meat becomes opaque, 2 to 4 minutes. (If chicken begins to brown, reduce heat to medium.) Using tongs, flip chicken and cook on second side until opaque, 2 to 4 minutes more. Add tomato sauce, broth, and water; stir to combine. Bring to simmer; cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10 minutes. 

4. Add rice, olives, capers, and 3/4 teaspoon salt; stir well. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Place pot in a 350 degree oven. After 10 minutes, remove pot from oven and stir chicken and rice once from bottom up. Return pot to oven. After another 8 minutes, stir once more, adding 1/2 cup water if rice appears dry and bottom of pot is beginning to burn. Cover and return pot to oven; cook until rice has absorbed all liquid and is tender but still holds its shape and temperature of chicken registers 165 degrees on instant-read thermometer, about 10 minutes longer. 

5. Using tongs, remove chicken from pot; replace lid and set pot aside. Remove and discard chicken skin; pull meat off bones into large chunks. Remove remaining fat or dark veins from chicken pieces. Place chicken in large bowl and toss with remaining tablespoon olive oil, remaining 2 teaspoons vinegar, remaining 2 tablespoons cilantro, and pimentos; season with salt and pepper to taste. Place chicken on top of rice, cover, and let stand until warmed through, about 5 minutes.