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Why It Works
- Using the aromatic chicken-poaching liquid to arrange dinner the rice perfumes it with hen style.
- Numerous smoked and cured elements—along with two concentrated forms of tomato—improve the savoriness of the dish.
- Tomato, olives, capers, and Parmesan stability the richness of the sausage and ham with layered tartness.
Picture this: a giant, spherical, wooden desk with thick-set legs crowded with not lower than 16 people noisily pulling chairs in and out, screaming for this or that platter, bread, one factor to drink. My paternal grandparents’ dwelling in Granada, Nicaragua, was residence to my father and his 9 siblings, along with first cousins and further distant kinfolk who received right here in and out as they blissful, their favorite visiting hours being these when meals have been being served on the King Arthur-style spherical desk. Proper this second, the house has fewer lunch and dinner firm, nevertheless the ghosts of the earlier and my grandmother’s conduct of mounding meals on outsized platters keep.
Arroz con pollo is a primary of the Nicaraguan kitchen repertoire. It repeatedly goes by the stage determine arroz a la Valenciana, which for English audio system will translate really into Valencian rice, aka paella. Arroz con pollo is far from paella, nevertheless one can take into consideration how our Spanish forefathers might need prepared it of their colony, adapting their typical recipes to their new areas’ elements. The passage of time, the looks of canned meals, and the comfort of consolation merchandise led to the whole bastardization of the distinctive arroz a la Valenciana, however it certainly stays among the many many prime favorite dishes of the populace.
How, exactly, have Nicarguans “custom-made” paella? The first protein is always hen, comparatively than shellfish, eel, rabbit, snails, and so forth., and comparatively than the plump bomba rice utilized in Spain, this arroz is the additional slender long-grain white. Since saffron is, for lack of a better phrase, scarce in our space, tomato paste and ketchup do the job of tinting the rice an orange color. Some people use annatto paste to achieve the desired marigold hue, nevertheless I uncover it in order so as to add an unpleasant vinegar-like style (annatto or achiote is purchased as a seasoned paste in Nicaragua).
Additions to the rice embrace diced carrots, small inexperienced peas (usually canned and charmingly referred to by their French determine petits pois), capers, pimento-stuffed inexperienced olives, sliced sausage, and chopped ham. At my grandmother’s dwelling there is a stack of white toast, shiny with butter, and a pile of finely grated queso duro (a salty, dry, crumbly unpasteurized cow’s milk cheese) or Parmesan to go along with the dish.
Arroz con pollo is a bit labor-intensive since each merchandise is prepared individually to achieve most style: You poach your private hen, make the rice, and have to chop an prolonged itemizing of elements, nevertheless the yield is form of spectacular and makes good leftovers. The mix may appear a bit odd and likelihood is you may scoff at what liberties have been taken with the distinctive recipe, nevertheless as quickly as you have received tried it you might understand why it is such a beloved dish.
April 2012
Nicaraguan Rice with Hen Recipe
Put together dinner Mode
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For the Hen (see notes)
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1 whole big hen (about 4 to 5 kilos), scale back into 8 gadgets, pores and pores and skin eradicated (see discover)
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1 medium yellow or white onion (225g)peeled and scale back into 6 wedges
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1 medium inexperienced bell pepper (130g)seeded and quartered
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6 garlic cloves (30g)peeled and smashed
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1 tablespoon (9g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt; if using desk salt, use half as loads by amount or the an identical weight
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2 teaspoons (6g) whole black peppercorns
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1 limeunhealthy ones
For the Rice
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2 tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter
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1 tablespoon (15ml) olive oil
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1 medium yellow or white onion (225g)finely chopped (about 1 cup)
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1 medium garlic clove (5g)minced (about 1 teaspoon)
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2 teaspoons (6g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt; if using desk salt, use half as loads by amount or the an identical weight
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2 tablespoons (30g) tomato paste
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2 cups (425g) long-grain white rice
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2 medium carrots (115g)peeled and scale back into small dice (about 1 cup; see discover)
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1 quart (945ml) hen broth
For the Arroz con Pollo
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3 tablespoons (45g) unsalted butter, divided
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8 ounces (225g) smoked sausage (just like Lil’ Smokies) or Kielbasa sausage, scale back into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
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1/4 pound (115g) sliced deli hamcoarsely chopped
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1 medium yellow or white onion (225g)finely chopped (about 1 cup)
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3/4 cup (75g) drained canned or jarred piquillo peppersfinely chopped
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2 tablespoons (30g) tomato paste
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6 tablespoons (120g) ketchup
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3/4 cup (115g) pimento-stuffed olivessliced
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1/3 cup (35g) capersdrained
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1 1/2 cups (185g) frozen peas (see discover)
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Kosher salt
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1 cup (2 ounces; 60g) finely grated parmesan cheese (elective)
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Buttered white toast (elective)
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For the hen: Place hen, onion, bell pepper, garlic, salt, peppercorns, and a pair of quarts (1.9L) chilly water in a Dutch oven (hen should be submerged 2 inches; add further water if important). Squeeze lime juice into pot and add juiced lime halves to pot. Carry to boil over medium heat, then immediately reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until hen is cooked by way of and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 165°F (74°C), about 20 minutes.
Crucial Eats / Qi Ai
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Using tongs, swap hen to a giant bowl. As quickly as cool enough to cope with, shred hen into bite-sized gadgets, eradicating and discarding bones; it is best to have 4 cups of shredded hen. Stress broth (discarding solids) and reserve 4 cups of broth; put apart (retailer the rest for yet another use).
Crucial Eats / Qi Ai
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For the rice: Wipe out the Dutch oven, add 2 tablespoons butter, and soften over medium heat. Add oil, onion, garlic, and salt and put together dinner, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and put together dinner until darkened, about 1 minute.
Crucial Eats / Qi Ai
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Stir in rice and carrots and put together dinner, stirring, until rice is completely coated with onion mixture, about 1 minute. Add reserved broth and produce to a boil over medium-high heat. Proceed to boil until loads of the liquid has evaporated and you will see small bubbles on the ground of the rice. Cut back heat to the underside setting, cowl, and put together dinner until rice is accomplished, about 20 minutes. Take away from heat, fluff rice with chopsticks or fork, and put apart.
Crucial Eats / Qi Ai
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For the Arroz Con Pollo: In a giant skillet with extreme sides, soften 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add sausage and ham and put together dinner until calmly browned, about 3 minutes. Change to a plate and put apart.
Crucial Eats / Qi Ai
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Soften remaining 1 tablespoon butter in now-empty skillet. Add onion and peppers and put together dinner until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and put together dinner until darkened, about 1 minute. Add ketchup and reserved shredded hen and put together dinner, stirring, until hen is completely coated together.
Crucial Eats / Qi Ai
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Stir in reserved rice, then reserved sausage and ham mixture. Stir in olives, capers, and peas. Put together dinner, stirring typically to allow flavors to meld, 10 to fifteen minutes. Season with salt to model.
Crucial Eats / Qi Ai
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Serve warmth with grated parmesan cheese and buttered white toast, if using, alongside.
Crucial Eats / Qi Ai
Specific Gear
Dutch oven, instant-read thermometer, fine-mesh strainer, big skillet with extreme sides
Notes
This recipe could possibly be scale back in half. For a sooner mannequin of this recipe: Buy a rotisserie hen (you might have considered trying about 4 cups of shredded hen) and low-sodium hen broth in its place of poaching your private hen and making your private broth. Comparatively than cooking the diced carrots with the rice, substitute them and the frozen peas with 2 1/2 cups of frozen peas-and-carrots.
Make-Ahead and Storage
The hen and rice is also cooked 2 days upfront. To retailer, place hen and three cups strained broth in airtight container and refrigerate. Refrigerate rice in an airtight container.