Friday, December 21, 2007

Arroz Relleno- Aby's Recipe

This is a recipe that has been passed around from generation to generation in my family. It's my grandmother Aby's recipe. I don't have pictures of this recipe because the last time I made it, I had not started collecting pictures of my food. I will add them the next time I make it. This goes really well with an avocado salad and some fried sweet plantains. Yummm!

Ingredients

6 pieces of chicken (with Skin and bones) (I like white meat but you can use white, dark, or both)

White wine (preferably a dry wine)

3 Bay leaves

3 large onions

6 cloves of garlic

3 cups white rice

5 chicken bouillon cubes

3 packets Sazón Goya (if they don't carry this at your local grocery store you can try substituting with 1 tsp. powdered saffron and a pinch of cumin)

2 tbsp butter

Salt (to your liking)

Garlic powder


First you rinse the chicken and remove any excess fat. Pat the pieces dry and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. In a large and deep pot add olive oil and begin browning the pieces of chicken at medium high heat. Add a few pieces at a time to make sure the temp in the pot stays high. You will not cook the chicken through just yet; we are only browning at this point. Once all the pieces are browned set aside on a separate plate. Drain the olive oil from the pot and add the chicken back. Cut two large onions in rounds and add to the pot of chicken. Add white wine to the pot, 3 or 4 bay leaves and season with a little more salt, and garlic powder. Put a lid on the pot and cook until the chicken is done. Once the Chicken is done remove the pieces, put them aside to cool and once cool, begin to shred. You can hand pull the pieces. Remember to discard the skin. Next take the juices from the pot and run through a sieve. Put the chicken in a bowl and add the juice you just ran through the sieve.

For the Rice

Take the 3 cups of white rice and wash in a colander (with fine holes) until the liquid runs clear. This is an important step because it will remove the excess starch and starch is not your friend when trying to make perfectly cooked rice. Let the rice drain well. In a pot add 1 tablespoon of oil (preferably canola or vegetable) and 2 tablespoons of butter. Finely dice an onion and add to the oil and butter mixture. Allow the onions to become translucent, and add rice and begin to sauté until toasty… do not let the rice burn; just allow it to toast a bit. Turn the heat to high and add 2 1/2 cups of chicken stock and one cup of dry white wine to the pot. Add the sazon Goya seasoning, or the saffron and cumin. Let the rice boil until the liquid is reduced and then bring the heat to low and add a lid to the pot. Once the rice grains are tender, turn off the heat.


To Assemble:
In an oven safe casserole dish, create the first layer of rice, next add a layer of shredded chicken (with juices), next add rice and continue to layer ingredients. On the top layer add shredded mozzarella cheese and bake in a 350 degree oven until the cheese is bubbling.

3 comments:

Nathan said...

I must do your rice dish eventually.

I think they call this type of casserole "Arroz Imperial" in some CUban places in Miami, I have never had it before in my life.

I saw a recipe it in "Marta's Cuban American" blog, but to be 100% honest (and I hope she never reads this) I didn't want to make it because like alot of her Cuban dishes she just uses a bunch of canned stuff, goes over board with the tomato and dry white wine so her dishes tend to be overpowered by tomato and tooo acidic, I had the same feeling when I looked at her "Arroz Imperial"

Yours sounds like something I would eat at home, it's simple, flavorful, uses stuff my grandmothr would use in the kitchen.

I will get back to you when I make it :)

Rox said...

Hi Nathan:
Arroz imperial is similar- the difference is that Imperial has a layer of mayonnaise in between the chicken and rice. I like this one better personally but they're both yummy.

Ralph said...

How much wine?


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