baby rambutan

the original plan was to make arroz con pollo again. kids’ favorite you know.
but i didn’t have any parboiled rice. Uncle Ben’s, in particular.

so off to the recipe bookshelf, straight to the Spanish section. i had red peppers, chicken, tomatoes…hmmmm. no more potatoes! kids ate all the fingerlings with their last steak dinner….then send husband off to buy yukon gold, they really truly love potatoes.

the dish: just a wonderful choice for an easy yet filling and satisfying Sunday supper.

and the secret ingredient…

pollo en chilindron: (from Recipes from a Spanish Village, Pepita Aris, Simon and Schuster, 1990)

3 &1/4 pound chicken, quartered and backbone removed, cut up (i used leg quarters, divided)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsps. paprika (i used smoked)
2 tbsps. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 lb. smoked or raw ham, chopped
3 sweet red peppers, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup drained canned tomatoes (i used fresh)
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

rub salt and paprika into the chicken. heat the oil in a flameproof casserole into which the chicken will fit comfortably and put in the chicken portions, skin side down. fry over medium-low heat, turning until golden on all sides.
while the chicken is cooking, distribute the onion and diced ham in the gaps in the casserole and fry, stirring every now and then, until soft. chicken gives off its fat, so you may be able to remove a couple of spoonfuls of oil at this point. remove chicken to a platter and cover w/ aluminum foil.

pour boiling water over the chopped sweet pepper and let it soak 10 minutes. drain well, then blot on paper towels. if you have a food processor, pulse briefly (this is not crucial, however). [or use chopped bottled roasted red pepper.]
add the garlic, sweet peppers and chopped tomato to the pan, with the dried chili flakes. return the chicken to the pan. cook and let it reduce 4-5 minutes, adjust seasonings with salt and pepper, then cook covered 10 minutes.
serve with oven fried yukon gold potatoes.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 26th, 2008 at 9:18 am and is filed under winged creatures. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.