Tacohuaco

Arroz caldoso de pollo

Air fryerDutch ovenRiceSpanish cuisineStewsWarmingBraising

90 minutes

This dish was inspired by our winter trip to Valencia, Spain. One day we had an amazing lunch with lobster in brothy rice. We like it much more than paella, and we wanted to have a similar recipe that we could cook at home (minus the lobster). This is arroz caldoso de pollo (soupy rice with chicken), and it’s made of a few simple ingredients, a bunch of spices, and cooks in one pot. Still, it has enough flavor and warmth to make a whole family happy.

Ingredients

Yields 8 portions

  • 4 chicken legs
  • 1 onion
  • 1 chile
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 1 green bell pepper
  • a few tablespoons tomato paste
  • 250 ml white wine  optional
  • 1.5 l water  boiled
  • 15 g almond meal
  • 250 g rice bomba or other short or medium grain rice
  • olive oil
  • salt
  • freshly ground coriander seeds
  • curcuma powder
  • ground nutmeg

You will need

  • Dutch oven with a lid

Directions

  1. Prepare the vegetables:
    • Onion: peel, halve, and cut into ½ cm slices. Chile: halve lengthwise, remove the seeds, and thinly slice. Garlic: crush, peel and roughly chop.
    • Bell pepper: halve, remove the root and the seeds, and cut into 1 cm squares.
    • Tomatoes: halve, remove the roots, and cut into ½ cm pieces.
  2. Rinse the chicken in cold water. Separate the thighs from drumsticks.
  3. Cover the bottom of the Dutch oven with olive oil, and heat it on medium-high heat.
  4. Brown the chicken on all sides with a bit of salt, for 10–15 minutes on each side.
  5. Place the chicken skin side down in the Dutch oven, sprinkle with salt, and cook until the skin is brown and crispy, for 10–15 minutes.
  6. Reduce the heat to medium, flip the chicken, add the onions, chile, and garlic, add the freshly ground coriander seeds, and cook for a few minutes, until the onions are softened and transparent.
  7. Add the bell peppers, and cook for a few more minutes.
  8. Add the tomatoes, and the tomato paste, and cook for a few more minutes.
  9. Add wine, and cover everything with water (the water should be about 3 cm higher than the food), increase the heat to high, add the curcuma powder, ground nutmeg, and a bit more salt, and bring to a boil.
  10. Lower the heat to medium and simmer uncovered for about 45 minutes, until the chicken is fork tender and the liquid reduced a bit.
  11. Add the rice, and the almond meal. Cook uncovered for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is almost tender.
  12. Remove the Dutch oven from the heat, and let it rest covered for about 5 minutes.

Notes

This recipe is based on Mission Food Adventure’s Arroz caldoso de pollo (soupy rice with chicken) recipe.

More recipes like arroz caldoso de pollo