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Latin Style Arroz con Pollo

Arroz con pollo, despite it's ubiquity in Latin America is something of a mystery to me. I can cook jambalaya well enough but outside of that particular dish I am all thumbs. I either get the proportion of rice right or the proper mixture of tastes right but never both.

The ever-reliable Cooks Illustrated folks came to the rescue with their own version of this dish that I recently attempted. It didn't bowl me over tastewise but it did get the balance of flavors as well as the proportion of rice on the nose.Their suggestion is to do the preparation of the dish on a burner and do the part involving the rice in the oven. So obvious I'm pretty pissed at not realizing it myself.

I'll give this a go a few times playing around with the spicing and, if I feel adventurous later on, I'll apply the lesson to the Peruvian version of the dish.

Ingredients 6 cloves garlic, pressed .5 tsp oregano .25 cup white vinegar ground black pepper 8 chicken thighs, bone in, skin on trimmed of excess fat 2 tbs olive oil 1 medium white onion, chopped 1 green pepper, chopped 1 bay leaf .25 tsp red pepper flakes .25 cup cilantro leaves, chopped fine 1 8oz can tomato sauce 1.75 cups low sodium chicken stock .25 cup water 3 cups medium grain rice .5 cup green olives, pitted and chopped 1 tbs capers .5 cup cut pimentos Instructions Preheat oven to 350F. Mix pressed garlic cloves and salt and mix into a paste. Add oregano and vinegar and black pepper. Stir well. Place chicken thighs in bowl and mix until completely coated. Set aside for 15 minutes. Heat the olive oil in dutch oven and add onion, green pepper, red pepper flakes and bay leaf. Cook until vegetables soften. Add 2 tbs cilantro and stir. Move mixture to side of pot, increase flame to medium high and add chicken thighs to bottom. Allow sides to whiten but not brown. Turn until done on all sides (do in batches if necessary). Add tomato sauce, broth, water and stir until completely combined. When it reaches boiling, turn heat to medium low and cover. Cook for 20 minutes. Add rice, capers, olives and salt to pot and stir. Place covered in oven. Cook for ten minutes. Remove and stir. Cook for another ten minutes. Remove and stir. Cook a final ten minutes and see if rice has absorbed all the liquid. If so remove from oven. Remove the chicken and re-cover the pot and set aside. Remove the skin and bones from the chicken. Place in a bowl with 1 tbs olive oil, pimentos and remaining cilantro. Add salt and pepper. Mix well. Place mixture on top of rice in pot, cover and let sit for at least five minutes. Stir and serve.

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