| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 15 min |
| Prep: | 30 min |
| Cook: | 45 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Achiote Oil, recipe follows
- 1 (3 to 4-pound) chicken, cut into 10 pieces
- Fine sea or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup Sofrito, recipe follows
- 1/4 cup alcaparrado or coarsely chopped pimiento-stuffed olives
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Pinch ground cloves
- 4 cups long-grain rice
- 5 cups homemade or store-bought reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 2 large bottled roasted red peppers, cut into 1/4-inch strips (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons achiote (annatto) seeds, see Cook’s Note*
- 2 medium Spanish onions (about 12 ounces), cut into large chunks
- 3 to 4 Italian frying peppers or Cubanelle peppers, cored, seeded and cut into large chunks
- 16 to 20 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 large bunch cilantro, washed
- 7 to 10 ajices dulces (see Cook’s Note*), optional
- 4 leaves culantro (see Cook’s Note*), optional
- 3 to 4 ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 pound), cored and cut into chunks
- 1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into large chunks
Instructions
- In a paella pan or wide, shallow pan with a tight-fitting lid, heat the Achiote Oil over medium-high heat until the oil is rippling. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add as many pieces skin side down to the pan as fit without touching. Cook, turning as necessary, until well browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove the pieces as they are done and set aside. Adjust the heat under the pan, especially after you start removing chicken, so the chicken browns without the oil darkening.
- When all the chicken is removed from the pan, add the Sofrito and alcaparrado. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Raise the heat to high and boil until most of the water is evaporated from the Sofrito. Add the cumin and cloves.
- Stir in the rice until coated with oil. Return the chicken to the pan, pour in enough broth to cover the rice by the width of 2 fingers (about 1-inch), and bring to a boil. Cook over high heat until the level of liquid reaches the rice. Stir gently and reduce the heat to low. Cover the pan and cook until the liquid is absorbed, the chicken is cooked through, and the rice is tender but firm, about 20 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork. The arroz con pollo can be brought to the table right in the pan or transferred to a large serving platter. Either way, garnish with the red pepper before serving.
- Heat the oil and annatto seeds in a small skillet over medium heat just until the seeds give off a lively, steady sizzle. Don’t overheat the mixture or the seeds will turn black and the oil will turn a nasty green. Once they’re sizzling, remove the pan from the heat and let stand until the sizzling stops. Strain and reserve in a jar with a tight-fitting lid at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Chop the onion and Cubanelle or Italian peppers in the work bowl of a food processor until coarsely chopped. With the motor running, add the remaining ingredients 1 at a time and process until smooth. The sofrito will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It also freezes beautifully.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 1261 |
| Total Fat | 65 g |
| Saturated Fat | 13 g |
| Carbohydrates | 119 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 7 g |
| Sugar | 9 g |
| Protein | 48 g |
| Cholesterol | 135 mg |
| Sodium | 2097 mg |
Reviews
Marvelous and full of flavor. I also will make with black beans and pernil. What a wonderful Sunday dinner!
I have loved this recipe for many many years and it’s very easy to make! The flavors are fantastic and it comes together very quickly! I highly recommend it!!
Made this recipe tonight. Very simple and delicious
Delicioso! Based on other recipes and reviews, I used boneless skinless chicken thighs. While I should have but didn’t cut down the timing of the chicken for this recipe, it was still very juicy and tender. I also had medium grain rice so I followed the package instructions for liquids. Unfortunately the cooking time was too long for this type of rice, and the bottom was a bit dark and crispy. So if you use chicken thighs, just plan to use the amount of liquid & cooking time that your rice requires and add the chicken back for the last 20 minutes of cooking. Like one reviewer, I had Anaheim’s instead of cubanelle peppers, so the sofrito was too spicy for my family. So I chopped a half onion, one green bell, roasted red bell, five cloves more of garlic, and an additional small bunch of cilantro, and then added back a few spoonfuls of the sofrito. The recipe should include a 1/2 cup of frozen baby peas, which are typically added during the last few minutes of cooking, and which appear in the cover picture. Very versatile, great comfort recipe! It’s easy to see why there are so many different versions of it.
My Cubana Mom used half stock and half beer. It had to be Bud. Lol. Also she used saffron yo make her rice yellow. Green peas and olives and roasted red pepper. For her chicken she went American and made fried chicken. Her presentation was gorgeous.
I just had a question: in the photo it looks like peas were added to the recipe? What are the round green things? Thanks!
Made this for my sons middle school class. I thought some might come back, as most kids won’t eat things unfamiliar. Boy was I wrong!! The class loved it and now my sons in 12 th grade and it’s still a favorite of his class. I make it exact to the recipe. Thanks Daisy!!!
Good with some changes: NO cilantro, no ground cloves (never saw it used in Puerto Rican or Cuban versions of arroz con pollo), added beer to the chicken stock measurement and used only dark meat chicken. With those changes it was better.
I ground 2 whole cloves and cumin seed, and only had black olives in the house. I thought this was the most delicious arroz con pollo I have ever made, and my entire family agreed! This recipe’s a keeper!
I was a little bit hesitant to make this at first as it did seem complicated. But I did and it wasn’t hard at all.
I made the sofrito first. I had a bunch of Hatch (Anaheim) peppers that someone brought up from New Mexico. I halved the recipe and left out the ajices dulces, culantro, (didn’t have these ingredients) and red bell pepper. Used 1 onion, 8 garlic cloves, 2 Hatch peppers, 2 larger plum (Roma) tomatoes, a larger handful of cilantro. Had leftovers and so my husband just seasoned it a bit more and used it as a salsa. Yummy! (the Hatch peppers were actually quite hot!)
Then the achiote oil. Here again 1/2 the recipe. Found achiote seeds at Whole Foods.
Finally, the rice and chicken. Used Basmati rice as it works well with frying. I used 5 boneless skinless thighs and they worked out fine. Did brown them first in the achiote oil. Made it pretty much as directed, but didn’t use roasted red peppers or olives. My son LOVED it (he’s picky) and had seconds. Big hit!