One-Pot Arroz Con Pollo
Time to complete
2 hours
Serving size
4
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What You Need
Ingredients
Preparation
Across countries in the Caribbean and Central and South America, arroz con pollo recipes abound. Key to nearly all renditions of this famed rice-with-chicken dish? Rice that gets its bright yellow color from dark red annatto seeds. In the version here, a well-seasoned whole chicken imparts flavor, and gently caramelized tomato paste gives the rice even more depth and color. Sweet peas and briny olives need only a few minutes of residual heat at the end to warm through and give this classic dish a pop of green. Serve with avocado, cilantro, and wedges of fresh lemon or lime.
- Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 375ºF/190ºC. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and, if desired, tie legs together with kitchen twine.
- Using a mortar and pestle (or a knife on a cutting board), smash garlic with a pinch of salt to make a paste. Scrape into a small bowl and add oregano, sugar, cumin, paprika, annatto, lemon or lime juice, and 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add 2 tablespoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper; stir to combine.
- Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a HexClad 6.5 QT Oval Dutch Oven. Add the chicken, breast side down, and sear until well-browned, about 3 minutes. Flip and sear on the other side, 3 minutes more. Brush spice mixture all over chicken. Cover pot and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.
- Using tongs and a spatula, carefully transfer chicken to a plate. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of accumulated cooking juices into a large heatproof measuring cup. Add onion, bell pepper, and ½ teaspoon salt to pot and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add tomato paste and cook until tomato paste has thickened and darkened slightly, about 2 minutes more. Add rice and stir. To the reserved cooking juices, add enough chicken broth to make a total of 3 cups/720 milliliters. Add to pot and bring to a boil. Carefully return chicken to pot. Cover and bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until rice is tender and a meat thermometer inserted in thickest parts of chicken registers 165°F/75°C.
- Fluff rice with a fork, and sprinkle olives and peas (no need to defrost) over rice. Cover and let stand until olives are warmed and peas are bright and tender, about 10 minutes. Cut chicken into quarters or pieces; serve over rice with avocado, cilantro, and lemon or lime wedges.
