Cooking with Crazy Bob: Arroz con Pollo
I just cooked my best attempt at Arroz con Pollo (Chicken with Rice). Traditionally, this Latin American dish consists of browned chicken simmered with rice and vegetables — usually tomato, onion and garlic. That vegetable combination is called sofrito, a base seasoning in Latin cuisine. Delicious, yes, but I forgot about the vegetables when I made my recipe. Oops. I did, however, make a rub for the chicken to replace those flavors. I really like the simplicity of chicken with rice — hey, that’s a great name! You should try this with a side dish of black beans cooked with tomato, onion and garlic. Now that’s tradition! Adios, amigos.
• Chicken, whole, Greenwise all natural 31/2-4 lbs.
• Rice, yellow 10 oz. pkg.
• Oil, canola 2 tbls.
• Paprika 2 tbls.
• Garlic, granulated 1 tbls.
• Onion, granulated 1 tbls.
• Cumin, ground 1 tsp.
• Thyme, dried 1 tsp.
• Chipotle Chile powder 1/2 tsp.
• Salt, kosher 2 tsp.
• Pepper, black ground 1 tsp.
Rinse and pat dry the chicken, cut into eight sections. Mix together the remaining ingredients except the rice and oil. Rub the spice mixture on the chicken sections. Heat the oil in a 12 inch fryer skillet over med. high heat. Place the chicken in the skillet, skin side down, cook 3-5 minutes, until browned. Turn the chicken over, leaving spaces between the pieces. Distribute the rice into the spaces, pour 2 1/2 cups of water over the rice. Cover the skillet with a tight fitting lid, reduce heat to med. low, and simmer for 30 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed by the rice and the chicken reaches 165 degrees internal temperature.
Sharing his enthusiasm for food and having fun is the reason he acquired the name of Chef Crazy Bob. He is a self-taught chef, who has been creating and cooking up recipes with love for 30-some years. His neverending culinary passion led him to his profession as the exhibition chef for Health Park.
Chef Crazy Bob supports organic farming, non-additives and free range. He describes his style of cooking is keeping things fresh, flavorful and seasonal.
E-mail Chef Crazy Bob with your questions and/or comments at chefcrazybob@gmail.com