Arroz con Pollo: the results thread!

[Jenise]

So I've made three versions of Arroz con Pollo this week. Kind of.

Last Wednesday week I wanted to make a Mex version but the various things I'd mentioned seeing on the internet in my original post had tainted my thinking and I just couldn't get creative in an original way about the two chicken thighs I'd set out to make dinner out of. I'd stewed about it all day and not come up with anything. So I poured myself a glass of wine and in the glow that followed remembered that I'd given myself an unintended out, I could adapt the chicken and rice concept to my own cultural background! Which was a very happy thought until I remembered that I don't have one: I'm a mutt. And so were my parents, and so were their parents and their parents before them. Best I could do was pretend my very Frenchy birth name means more than it does, so I cooked rice with garlic and chopped oil cured olives, and cooked the browned chicken thighs with the rice. Separately I made a sauce of sliced crimini mushrooms and fresh herbs bound with a little demi-glace. Not exactly a one-dish meal, but a very good dinner made from things on hand.

Yesterday, Sunday, was the next meal I cooked at home, so Arroz con Pollo was again on deck. Chicken breasts this time, boneless and skinless. And once again, I arrived at meal time without a single clever thought. I stared at the chicken breasts, stared at the contents of my fridge, then stared at the chicken breasts again. And came up with nothing except a cold salad version of chile relleno based on the giant pasilla chiles I'd bought earlier for later in the week because they were especially large, especially fresh, and especially cheap--$1.48/lb vs. the $2.99 we usually see up here. For those, I charred a chile and then divided it, filling each half with a chiffonade of cabbage, slivered green onions, and cilantro dressed with oil, vinegar and salt. While stalling for time on the chicken, I remembered that I had a log of Laura Chenel goat cheese in the fridge, so I browned two discs of that in the toaster oven to top each relleno with. I know we don't normally think of goat cheese as Mexican, but remembering the thread here recently about the Mexican tradition of goat meat, it struck me as something worth borrowing.

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It wasn't until those were done and in the fridge that the idea for my main dish came to me: tamales. And not just a tamale, but what you might call a fresh tamale since it wouldn't need the steaming time of a traditional tamale. It's not something I've ever seen, heard about or done before, but I happened to have corn husks on hand from an aborted tamale project of several months ago and polenta for the 'crust', so it was doable. I quickly soaked four husks (thank god for my insta-hot tap), then smeared polenta in the middle in a shape roughly a half inch wider and longer than the chicken breast, topped it with a tiny bit of shredded cheese to act as a glue, then topped that with a half of one breast and a second corn husk. I ripped off a strip of husk to tie the tamale at one end. Separately, when I started making the tamales, I sauteed some onions and then added chicken broth and two dried guajilla chiles and let that simmer. When both tamales were done, I sauteed about a cup of well rinsed Calrose rice in a pan wide enough for the depth of liquid going into the dish to be fairly shallow, about 1/3", added enough broth, and then put the tamales on top of the rice, chicken side down so that it could poach in the broth. This tamale-rice mixture simmered covered for about 20 minutes, then rested off the fire another ten. For service, I turned the tamales over, removed the top husk to reveal the chicken, and then topped each with a bit of Tapatio hot sauce and a pico-de-gallo of sorts made of lime-marinated red onion slivers with fresh golden oregano from my garden.

The dish was fantastic--not quite outstanding (would want more Mexican flavor in the chicken, and I'll play with that in the future), but it was definitely fresh, exciting, refined Mexican food without the typical fat or calories and we loved it.

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Oh, and dish number three? I am/was doing that tonight. I have something simmering downstairs but the first stage is so darned good that I'm going to change directions. It won't end up Persian after all. Will report back tomorrow.

Arroz con Pollo
I have two recipes I love, one from Sunset magazine, another from a neighbor who passed away several years ago. The Sunset version begins with browning of salt pork and from there it is a simple, uncomplicated Arroz con Pollo. I dug around looking for something bolder, and found a recipe I used as inspiration. Achiote powder, cumin, coriander, and fresh garlic were to be mixed and then rubbed onto the chicken pieces. I wondered why the garlic was included in the rub, because it would burn, look and taste ugly. Also, I did not have the Achiote powder, but had paste, so I mixed it with the other dry spices. I used the dry rub on the chicken, and added the garlic in with the veggies to sauté. I used fresh Roma tomatoes, instead of canned, as called for in the recipe, homemade chicken stock, saffron, and a bit of dry white wine to the mix. The chicken browned up nice and crisp but had an “off” odor that I think was the Achiote. Since this was my first time using this ingredient, I was not sure what to expect. The rice was great, flavored with red bell peppers, onion, fresh garlic, and saffron. It was a colorful dish, but not the excellent rating I was hoping for. The recipe also called for adding peas, but it already had enough veggies, especially since I served, young, just picked green beans and yellow patty pan squash as a side dish.
I thought about this dish last night and determined that what I really like about my two other Arroz con Pollo dishes is that I always added fresh lemon juice and zest. I love the combination of rice, tomatoes, chicken, white wine and lemon juice. The bright, fresh flavor of the lemon has always appealed to me.
I know, I know, Arroz con Pollo does not usually have fresh lemon, at least not the recipes I have seen. I usually go rogue on my recipes anyway, but tried to stay true to this latest version. I’m sticking with the Sunset recipe next time. Unless I feel adventurous!

[Jenise]

Your dish looks great, Karen, thanks for posting pix too. The recipe sounds like an amalgamation of both the South American and paella-imitating style. Too bad you didn't love it more, but it's not a loss to have a great reason to recommit yourself to the recipe you've loved all these years.

Where's everyone else? I didn't come out to play though I thought about it.

Never really made it before myself, so I was going to sit back and collect recipes/techniques.

All the photos above look great. Jenise, love the idea of the chile relleno "salad."

Got to go look up achiote.

So what happened to everyone else who was in? I'm curious! I have some thoughts, want to see if my hunch was right.

I was hoping to take part but no time to get to it!

The week's been to busy for me to cook, but I hope to get to this over the weekend.

The week's been too busy for me to cook, but I hope to get to this over the weekend.

I had a busy week and didn't manage to get my entry together until this weekend. But, here she is. I decided to take the Middle Eastern route. I had a jar of preserved lemons I wanted to use, so that was my inspirational ingredient. With it I used, green tomatoes, onions, garlic, Vietnamese cinnamon bark, cardamon pods, cloves, and graed ginger.

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I seasoned the chicken with salt, pepper, turmeric and mild pimenton. Then did a quick brown in olive oil.

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I added the aromatics and spices to the pan and sauteed for a couple minutes; added the rice (Basmati) and sauteed an additional couple minutes before adding the broth.

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I thought about adding a bit of white wine, but I thought there was enough going on with the flavors that it did not need that hit. Besides, the preserved lemons can be bold and I didn't want them fighting with anything else for prominence. So, I settled on adding just the broth, then it occurred to me that a few green olives would give it a bit more authenticity. So, I added a handful of those and one dried chili pepper. I covered and baked for 45 minutes, which was perfect.

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I served as a small plate entre since we had been nibbling all day. I ate mine with a spoonful of left over roasted beets I had seasoned with garlic, cumiin, cinnamon, honey, red pepper flakes, cider vinegar and olive oil. Perfect accompanyment. I forgot to take that picture! My husband commented that the chicken and rice dish was good. He hardly ever comments on food. So, that was a resounding endorsement. Good project. I'll make it again some day soon.

Jo Ann, that looks amazing!

Made a giant pot of chicken biryani on Saturday. No photos, but we lost power late Saturday night/early Sunday morning, so for the next couple of days (particularly while I was literally living out of my office) I was living off biryani leftovers. Moral of the story for me: make lots of biryani next time a big storm's on the horizon.

Jo Ann, that looks amazing!

Thanks, Jeff. I was really quite surprised at how well it turned out. Green tomatoes are a bit citrusy before the acid settles with ripening. They went well with the preserved lemon (and I used just the right amount to marry the flavors) -- which is difficult to describe if you've never tasted it. I like heat, but my husband doesn't, so I had a side of Patak's green chili relish to spice it up. The plate was sheer harmony. I can't wait for breakfast. I plan to have a bit more with some scrambled eggs and mushooms (some I found in the wild last weekend).

Great photos Jo Ann. Looks delicious...I wanted to reach in and scoop out a bite.

Made mine tonight. I went with a Provencal angle (Arroz con Poulet?). The chicken got a good coating of Herbes de Provence prior to being browned. It was pulled out of the pan and onion, celery, a couple of anchovy fillets, and minced garlic were sauteed for a few minutes. Then in went the rice, saffron, diced tomatoes (canned), more Herbes de Provence, some Blue Lake beans we happened to have, the chicken, white wine, and chicken broth. After that got going, I threw in some pitted Kalamatas. It all simmered until the rice was done. Ended up being very delicious. Only change I'd make would be to use fewer Kalamatas and to slice or dice them. They were good but a little too much left whole. Otherwise, the chicken was moist and tender and the flavors were complex and delicious.

Thanks for starting this, Jenise! We eat a lot of risotto and this is a really nice alternative. Everyone liked it a lot.