Arroz Con Pollo

The secret to great Arroz Con Pollo is the rice. There are many regional recipes featuring a myriad of ingredients, but if the rice turns out gummy and sticky the dish is ruined. I have found the best rice to use is aged Basmati, imported from the foothills of the Himalayan mountains in India. The variety has extra long grains, is aged for a year (the aging helps produce fluffier cooked rice) and has an aromatic, nutty flavor.

As for spices, the simplest recipe is salt and pepper, with a pinch of saffron or ground annatto seed added for that bright yellow color. However, the recipe provided below uses a spice packet used widely throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, and reflects how the dish is prepared in the vast majority of households where it is an inexpensive but filling and delicious dinner staple.

Ingredients: 4 chicken thighs, bone-in/skin-on½ teaspoon kosher sea salt½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper1 tablespoon olive oil1 cup diced Spanish onion1 cup diced red bell pepper1 large clove garlic (pureed using a microplane

grater)1 cup Basmati rice1 Badia Sazon Tropical spice packet1 10.5 oz. can low-sodium chicken stock1¼ cup water

Preparation: Rub salt and pepper onto chicken thighs. Add olive oil to skillet (one with a tight-fitting lid) that has been preheated to medium-high. Add chicken to skillet and brown on both sides. Remove chicken and add diced onion and red bell pepper. Sauté until onions are soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic puree and sauté 1 minute. Add rice and Badia Sazon Tropical spice packet, mix thoroughly and sauté 1 minute. Place chicken

thighs back into skillet. Add chicken broth and water, turn up heat and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium, place lid on skillet and cook at a strong simmer for 10 minutes. Turn heat off and let rest with lid on for another 10 minutes. Remove chicken, gently fold over rice to fluff grains and serve.