Nana's Arroz con Pollo Recipe.
1 chicken 3-3.5 lbs, cut into 10-12 pcs
3 cups Valencia style rice
1 cup crushed, peeled tomatoes in juice
1 head of garlic, crushed
1 jumbo onion, diced small
1 green bell pepper, diced very small
½ cup extra virgin olive oil (Spanish)
1 teaspoon bijol
1 bay leaf, whole
½ cup petit pois, drained
½ cup Spanish pimentos, drained
½ cup dry white wine
salt and pepper to taste
In a heavy pot, bring 8 cups of water to a boil, place chicken in boiling water, add a pinch of salt, bay leaf, and cover.
Let the water do a slow boil for twenty minutes, then remove chicken, and set one cup of caldo aside.
You should end up with about 7 cups of caldo (plus the one set aside), so add water to bring to that level.
This is also where you decide whether you wish to brown the chicken in olive oil or not. The taste won't change, but it will add a little color to the dish.
The sofrito.
In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil until it begins to smoke.
Add crushed garlic, diced onions and peppers, and stir until peppers and onions become transparent. Add crushed tomatoes, a pinch of cumin, and pepper, and wine, stirring mixture until liquids nearly evaporate.
Add three cups of uncooked (do not buy parboiled!) Valencia-style rice, sofrito and chicken to pot, bring to a boil, and cook covered until rice is tender. If needed, add more caldo to make rice sticky (the stickier the better as far as I am concerned).
Add most of the petit pois in the last fifteen minutes or so of cooking time.
Spread the remainder of petit pois and pimentos over the rice as decoration.
GOOD LUCK!!!
I've printed a copy to give to the cook in the family! :-)