Incorporating Cooking:
Arroz con Pollo (Cuba)
This is one of my favorite Cuban dishes to fix. Its a mainstay around my house and any time that I teach a lesson on Cuba or Florida, I share this with the group.
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, cut up
1/2 lemon
1/2 orange
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon bijol*
3/4 cup tomato sauce
3 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup dry white cooking wine
1 8-1/2 ounce can small peas
1 10-1/2 ounce can asparagus
2 cups rice
1/2 bottle of beer
pimentos for garnish
Directions:
1. Remove all skin from chicken. Rinse chicken and sprinkle with juice from lemon and orange.
2. Prepare a sofrito by combining green pepper, onion, garlic, bay leaf, ground pepper, bijol, tomato sauce, and olive oil. Cook over medium-high heat in a large pot for five minutes, stirring frequently. Lower heat and add chicken pieces, cooking chicken for three minutes on each side.
3. Add salt, cooking wine, juice from can of peas, juice from can of asparagus and 1 1/2 cups of water. Poach chicken over medium-high heat (covered) for 30 minutes, or until tender. Remove chicken from the pot and set aside.
4. Add 2 cups rice to the pot and bring to boil (covered), making sure that there is enough liquid in the pot to cook the rice (you will probably have to add more water). Reduce heat and cook rice (approximately 30 minutes). When rice is nearly cooked, add 1/2 bottle of beer to rice and stir well. Rice should remain moist.
5. Add chicken to the rice and simmer all for five minutes. Correct salt to taste and serve, garnished with peas, asparagus and pimentos.
Serves 6.
* Bijol is a natural food coloring. The powder is available at most Latin and ethnic food markets.
