Sunday, March 23, 2008

Spanish Chicken & Rice

Today is Easter, and for my Easter dinner I'm having the not so traditional Spanish Chicken and Rice. I'm a BIG fan of Paella, except I usually don't like the fishy part of it. Which is, as you may know the reason for Paella. No matter. I found a substitute. And by "found a substitute" I mean I changed the recipe up some.

Spanish Chicken and Rice
Serves: 4, but it does serve more than that.
  • 3 lbs chicken
  • 2 T flour
  • Salt and pepper
  • 4 T vegetable oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 14 oz can of tomatoes (I used crushed tomatoes, but you could use tomato sauce too)
  • 6 oz canned pimientos, drained and sliced (so I just used the green olives stuffed with pimientos)
  • 2 chicken bouillon cubes
  • 8 stuffed green olives (Right! only 8. Whatever)
  • 3/4 c long grain rice
  • 1/2 lb chorizo sausage; cut into 1/2 inch slices
  • 1 cup frozen peas

Toss chicken pieces in flour and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large skillet, brown the chicken on all sides and remove. Add the onion and fry until golden brown.

Here's where the recipe got weird for me. It says to drain tomatoes and add enough water to make 3 1/4 cups. Since I chose to use crushed tomatoes, I used a 28 oz can instead and the made sure I had 3 1/4 cups total liquid. I like more tomato flavor than not.

Return chicken to pan. Add the tomato juice (see above note), olives, pimientos, bouillon cubes, rice, and chorizo.

Cover pan tightly and simmer gently for 45 minutes, forking carefully through the rice occasionally to prevent it sticking.

Add peas to pan, cover again and simmer for another 30 minutes or until chicken is tender.

Adjust seasoning before serving.

Okay, and here's some more adjustments. I like my chorizo to have a browned texture to it. So I generally brown the chorizo separately and have it ready. I also do not include the bouillon cubes. Earlier when I said I add enough water to the crushed tomatoes, I've added chicken stock instead on some occasions, and it tastes just fine. I didn't find the bouillon cubes added any other flavor.

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