Arroz con Pollo: Chicken with Rice

Arroz con Pollo or Chicken with Rice is a traditional spanish dish that is eaten in many Latin American countries. While there is a dispute on where the recipe came from Puerto Rico or Spain, there is a pretty strong feeling that the history goes back to the Moorish times in Spain in the 8th century. Since this time Arroz con Pollo has become a popular dish in countries such as Puerto Rico, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Cuba, Costa Rica, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic. To look more into the history of the dish check out this page. 

To prepare Arroz con Pollo you will need a large stew pot, a blender, a rice cooker, and the following ingredients:

• 2 tbs. vegetable oil 
• 1 medium red onion minced 
• 1 tbs. garlic paste or one garlic clove minced 
• 1/2 tsp. pepepr
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. oregano 
• 1 1/2 tbs. salt
• 2 bundles of cilantro (when mixed with half a cup of water and blended it came out to be about 3-3 1/2 cups of liquid)
• 1 tbs. ají amarillo sauce 
• 10 portions of chicken 
• 4 cups of water
• 1/2 lbs. peas
• 1 carrot
• 2 husks choclo (you can also use about 2/3 cups of frozen white corn if you need, you may be able to find choclo at a local mexican grocery store)
• 1 red bell pepper
• 3 cups rice 

First make mince your onion and fry it in a large pot with 2-3 tbs. of oil for about 4 minutes on a medium to high heat. Next add in the cumin, oregano, pepper, and garlic and fry for another 2 minutes.  

 You will then need to blend the cilantro and half a cup of water together in a blender.

Once mixed add this mixture and a table spoon of ají amarillo sauce to the pot with the other ingredients and stir everything together until the liquid evaporates and you are left with something looking like the picture below.

Next you will add your chicken and mix it around for a minute or two, making sure the chicken gets well coated in the sauce. 

Then add 4 cups of water and the salt, mix, and let it cook for about 8 minutes. 

Next you will need to add your peas, carrots, and corn. Before adding the corn you will want to cut it off the husk and cut the carrots into small pieces. The type of corn we use is called choclo and it can often be found in Mexican food stores or you can use white corn as a substitute. 

After adding in the vegetables again put on the top of your pot and let it cook for another 6-8 minutes. 

Then you will need to drain the water from the chicken and vegetables to use for preparing the rice. Set the vegetables and chicken aside while you prepare the rice. 

If you have a rice cooker that is the best way to prepare the rice but if not use a pot on the stove. To prepare the rice first put 3 cups of rice in the rice cooker and then add the chicken broth liquid from the chicken mixture into the rice cooker as well. Ideally 1 cup of the 4 cups of the water added before will have now evaporated and you will have three cups of chicken broth liquid to add to the rice. With the rice and broth also dice the red pepper and add it into the rice cooker. 

Let the rice cook for the allotted time needed and once it is done add the vegetables that you had set aside, mix everything together, and let sit for about 5 minutes to warm everything up again. 

Finally serve a healthy portion of rice and a portion of chicken on each plate and enjoy! 

Overall I hope you enjoyed this post and I hope you try this recipe out yourself! If you do enjoy what you see please help by sharing it with other people. There is a Facebook page where you can follow along by clicking on the Facebook button on the righthand side of this page and you can also follow this blog as well. Also if you are an avid Pinterest user than please "Pin It" and share this recipe with other food lovers! And if anyone does prepare this dish readers love to read comments about how it went so please leave a comment here on the blog and post a picture of your final dish on the Facebook page. Happy Cooking! 

Estofado de Carne con Soufflé de Colifor: Beef Stew with Cauliflower Souffle

Today I was lucky to have my only class of the day canceled, so what did I do? I not only got to sleep in until 8:30, and get some much needed sleep, but I also got to help Lucy prepare another delicious Peruvian dish! In the following blog I will lead you through the process of making Estofado de Carne (Beef Stew) and Souffle de Coliflor (Cauliflower Souffle). This stew combines the sweetness of carrots and tomatoes with the spice of ají to make your mouth explode with flavor. I hope you thoroughly enjoy preparing this dish and sharing it with those around you! Like always if you like what you read please follow this blog by going to the links on the righthand side of the page, also follow the blog on Facebook where you can see more photos and join the conversations of other followers. Feel free to leave a comment below, and finally please share this recipe with your friends and family through Facebook, Pinterest, and/or any other social media site you use! Thanks for the support and be sure to come back to see future blog entries! 

Estofado de Carne: Beef Stew

• 1.5 kilo carne (this is enough meet for 10 plates, so if using chicken substitute for 10 pieces or 10 portions of chicken)
• 4-6 tbs. oil to fry the onion
• 1 large red onion
• 3 carrots
• 1 cup of peas 
• 2 ají amarillo (as I mentioned in another post a substitute could be serranos or another medium-hot pepper) 
• 5 medium tomatoes (with 1/2 cup water) 
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tbs. garlic paste (or one minced clove)
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. cumin 
• 1 tbs. paprika
• 1 tsp. vinegar 
• 2 cups water
• 5-10 potatoes (depending on if you want to add a half or whole potato to each plate)
• rice for 10 (alter how much you make depending on the appetite of those eating)

First dice the onions, slice and deseed the ají, and slice up your carrots into thin bite-size pieces. Next fry your onions in about 4 tablespoons of oil on high heat for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes add the garlic and vinegar and fry for another minute. Continue to add pepper, cumin, paprika, and oregano and fry for 1 minute before adding in the meat. Once you add the meat stir everything together for a minute or two while you get everything all mixed together. Next add 2 cups of water and let it cook for 1 hour on medium heat. After an hour slice each tomato into fourths and add them into the blender with half a cup of water. Once the mixture is well mixed add it to the stew along with the carrots, ají, and peas and let it continue to cook for about 30 minutes. While the stew is cooking for the last half hour prepare your potatoes and rice. Finally take the stew off the heat and prepare each plate with rice, potato, and a portion of meat and sauce.

Onions frying in pan.

Peas and carrots ready and chopped.

Spices waiting to be added to the mix.

Beef cut and ready to go.

Ready to add the water and start the hour long cooking process. 

Soufflé de Coliflor: Cauliflower Souffle

• 1 medium to large head of cauliflower
• 400 grams evaporated milk
• 350 grams heavy cream
• 250 grams grated mozzarella
• 70 grams grated parmesan 
• 8 eggs
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1/2 tbs. garlic paste

First off wash the cauliflower and then slice it into smaller pieces. Once at desired size put the cauliflower in a pot of boiling water for about 15 minutes. While the cauliflower is boiling mix together the remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl. When the cauliflower is ready take it off the heat, strain it, and add it to the mixing bowl with the other ingredients. Next you will need to grease or butter a large class cake pan and pour the contents into it. Once the contents are spread through the pan take margarine and put small pieces of it across the top of the pan like the last photo below. Finally put the souffle into the over and let it cook for 40 minutes to an hour at 350 degrees F. You will know the dish is ready when you can insert a knife or toothpick into it and it comes out clean. Once you reach this point take it out of the oven, let it cool for a few minutes, cut and serve.

Lucy cutting up the cauliflower

Cauliflower in hot water waiting to be drained.

Remaining ingredients to be mixed together.

Mixture ready to go into pan. 

Adding last touch of margarine to the dish before cooking.