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Arroz Con Pollo (Costa Rican Arroz con Pollo)

Arroz Con Pollo (Costa Rican Arroz con Pollo) is a traditional Costa Rican recipe for a classic stew of chicken and rice in a beer and tomato base with olives, capers, peas and carrots. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Panamanian version of: Costa Rican Arroz con Pollo (Arroz Con Pollo).

prep time

15 minutes

cook time

80 minutes

Total Time:

95 minutes

Serves:

8

Rating: 4.5 star rating

Tags : Spice RecipesHerb RecipesChicken RecipesCosta-rica Recipes

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As well as being a typical Sunday and feast dish this is also the Panamanian national dish for Christmas.

Ingredients:

2 dried bay leaves, crumbled
1.2kg bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (I use thighs for the increased flavour, but you can use breasts)
600g long-grain rice
3 tbsp neutral oil
1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
5 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3g fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1 tbsp sazon
1/4 tsp adobo seasoning
dash of Worcestershire sauce
Pinch saffron (3 threads)
175g tinned tomato purée
1 tsp sea salt
400ml tomato sauce
75g Manzanilla olives with pimiento
120ml capers in brine, drained
250g mixed peas and carrots (fresh diced, frozen or tinned)
330ml bottle dark beer (eg stout, porter, Modelo Negra or Munich dunkel)
Jarred pimientos morrones, to garnish

Method:

Place the bay leaves in a large pan of water and bring to a boil then add in the chicken thighs. Cook, uncovered, for about 25 minutes, or until the chicken is completely cooked through.

Drain the chicken, reserving the poaching liquid but discarding the bay leaves. Set the chicken aside until it's cool enough to be handled then remove the skin and bones and shred the meat.

Rinse the rice in a fine-meshed sieve until the water runs clear, then shake any excess water from the grains. Place a large non-stick pot (traditionally a paila) or cast iron casserole (Dutch oven) over medium heat. Once the oil is hot add the drained rice and fry, stirring frequently, until it turns a pale yellow (about 5-8 minutes).

Now stir in the onion, garlic, parsley, sazón, adobo powder, Worcestershire sauce, and saffron. Stir to combine, ensuring that you fold the seasonings into the rice. Now stir in the shredded chicken along with the tomato purée. Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, uncovered, over medium to low heat, stirring occasionally so that the rice does not burn or stick, scraping as you go, until the tomato paste has begun to stick to the pot.

Add enough of the reserved poaching liquid to cover the rice (500 to 750ml), then stir in the salt, tomato sauce, olives, capers, and the peas and carrots mix. Save any excess poaching liquid until you’re finished with the recipe, then discard. Should you run out of liquid, use premade chicken stock or water.

Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes over medium heat, or until the liquid has evaporated (it can vary based on your cooking vessel). Stir in 2/3 of the beer. (If the pan seems very dry, add the remaining beer. If not, drink the remainder.)

Tightly cover the paila with a large piece of kitchen foil and then cover with a lid. Simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice grains are split open. At this stage you may find that some of the rice grains have still not opened – if that’s the case, add a little bit more of the poaching liquid, mix, re cover the pan and continue cooking for about 10 minutes further. By the end of cooking, the rice should be soft but not too sticky.

Garnish with pimientos morrones and serve immediately.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container for 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator or vacuum seal and freeze in individual portions.