Arroz Con Pollo Y Gandules (Rice With Chicken & Pigeon Peas)

At the heart of every great Puerto Rican or Spanish rice dish is Soffritto, and the heart and soul of every great Paella is an Arroz Con Pollo! A Paella is just an Arroz Con Pollo With "extra" goodies, like muscles, artichoke hearts, shrimp, chorizo, and even lobster. In Puerto Rico and most countries, Paellas are a very festive and expensive food that are only consumed on very rare occasions. Not so for the Arroz Con Pollo, it is a daily staple that is very tasty and and full of nutrition, yet economical enough to be eaten on a daily basis.

Ingredients

9 Chicken Pieces of Drumsticks & thighs

3 cups of converted long grain white rice

6 cups of chicken broth

1 large onion diced

1/2 tbs. of minced garlic

21 finely sliced green pitted olives

2 tbs. large capers

Adobo all purpose seasoning by Goya (found at most international food isles at your grocery store)

4 tbs. of salsa

2 Sazon flavor packs with culantro and achiote

1 can 15oz. of Goya gandules ( pigeon peas)

5 tbs. extra virgin olive oil

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp.pepper

Directions

Rinse off chicken pieces then pat dry with a paper towel. Take two ounces of olive oil and brush on the chicken or use a large bag place oil oil inside, put in chicken and shake. Sprinkle a light coating of Adobo all purpose seasoning on both sides of all the chicken pieces. Then place chicken in a skillet and brown over a medium heat until they are about 90% done, then turn off heat and set aside.

Next take the can of Goya gandules and put in a small pot with one can of water and bring to a boil. After they come to a boil, put on a lid and lower the heat and let simmer about 5 minutes and then strain and rinse off gandules. In a large skillet put 3 tablespoons olive oil put heat on medium, put in one large chopped onion. Next add 1/2 tables spoon minced garic, then add strained gandules. Cook together, tossing and turning 2 to 3 minutes until the onion is transparent, then add 21 sliced olives and 2 tablesoons of capers. The add four tables spoons salsa,1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper and one Goya flavor pack mix well and then turn off heat and set aside.

In a large pot place 6 cups of chicken broth and one Goya flavor pack put on lid and bring to a boil. Then put on simmer (the following should be done quickly and replacing the lid to keep in as much steam as possible), Measure 3 cups of rice dump in level rice with a large spoon below the water line. Next add the soffritto(the onion gandule mixture) on top of the rice.Then add all of the chicken pieces on top of the soffritto, replace the lid and let simmer on low heat for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes hold lid on with pot holders and drain any excess water in the sink, then let rest 10 minutes with lid on. Next pull out chicken with thongs and mix up rice real good, put chicken in and serve!

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