Food Matters: Arroz con Pollo

Ok, here we go with the goal of trying new recipes ...

I made this just for our lunches for the week. In the summer, I like to make a lot of grain salads with beans or cheese or veggies or some combination thereof, then we can eat on them all week. This is a similar (cozy) version for cold weather.

Arroz con Pollo
*adapted from Mark Bittman's The Food Matters Cookbook

Makes: 4-5 (lunch) servings
Time: About 1 hour, mostly hands-off

2 Tbs olive oil
1 large or 2 medium onions, halved and sliced
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 cup short-grain brown rice
1 bay leaf
4 bone-in, skinless chicken breasts
2-3 cups chicken or vegetable stock, or water
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen peas
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 lemon, squeezed

1. Heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. A minute later, add onion and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion becomes soft and translucent, 3-5 minutes. (You should have all your ingredients prepped before you start cooking; watch your onions carefully so they don't burn while you are messing with your chicken, like mine did. Ahem.)
2. Add the rice and stir until coated with oil and lightly toasted, 1-2 minutes. Add bay leaf. Nestle chicken pieces in the rice, add a little more salt and pepper, and pour in stock. Bring the mixture to a boil, then adjust heat so the mixture bubbles gently, but steadily.
3. Cook, covered, until all the liquid is absorbed, the rice is tender, and the chicken is cooked through, 30-40 minutes.
4. Stir in the beans, peas and tomatoes.
5. Cover and turn the heat to low and allow everything to heat through for a few minutes.
6. Fluff the rice with a fork, remove the bay leaf, adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. Add fresh-squeezed lemon juice and garnish with chopped parsley if you have it in your fridge. (Who does?)
7. If you are serving for dinner, serve one chicken thigh with a scoop of the rice mixture. If you are making this for lunches (or for kids), I removed the chicken from the bones, chopped it, and stirred it back in for easy eating.

Notes/Tips:
- The original recipe calls for a pinch of saffron threads, which I will never be buying. Go ahead if you have them!
- Mark B. says the peas and beans are common in Arroz con Pollo. You can add whatever you want to this dish (minced garlic, chopped red bell pepper, diced tomatoes), or you can make it Indian-ish (add cardamom, cloves, cinnamon) or Chinese-ish (sesame oil, scallions, fresh ginger, cilantro).
- The original recipe called for "bone-in chicken thighs". I bought skin-on, then took it off before cooking. I'm glad I did - would have been too fatty. You could probably also use boneless, skinless - but do use the thighs; I think they are much more flavorful than chicken breasts.

- Full disclosure: the amount of liquid in this recipe did not work for me. The original recipe calls for 3 cups stock, which I used. You are supposed to cook this in a deep skillet, but I used an oval dutch oven-type dish, so maybe that was the problem. I suggest you go with the skillet to see if that helps. I cooked the rice for at least 45 minutes and it was done, but there was about 1 1/2 cups liquid leftover. I had to strain the rice and onions from the liquid, separate the fat, then stir back in the chicken and veggies, making a simple recipe much more complicated. I think if you use less liquid to begin with, and the correct pan, you should be fine. (The instructions on my rice say 1 cup rice to 2 cups liquid, so use your brand as a guide).

- Erik and I both agreed that this was very tasty, and very healthy. I would definitely make it again. A bowl of this, along with a piece of fruit, makes a very satisfying lunch.