Peruvian Chicken with Rice (Arroz con Pollo)

This is a traditional dish that is common throughout Latin America. There are many variations and this version is said to be Peruvian. Adapted from a recipe at allrecipes.com

Ingredients

For 1	Continued...
2 tbspn oil (1)	2 tbspn oil (2)
1 chicken breast	100 gm onion (prepared weight)
salt and black pepper (1)	75 gm rice (uncooked)
1 handful of fresh coriander	50 ml dry cider (see notes 2)
1 clove garlic	200 ml chicken stock
1 - 2 green chillies (see notes 1)	black pepper (2)
1 tspn worcestershire sauce	50 gm carrot
25 ml orange juice	50 gm bell pepper (see notes 3)
	50 gm peas

Preparation

Season the chicken breast on both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper (1).
Heat the oil (1) in a flame proof casserole over a medium heat and fry the chicken breast until deep golden brown on both sides, then remove from the pan, drain on kitchen paper and set aside.
Chop the coriander.
Chop the onion.
Roughly chop the garlic.
Roughly chop the chillies (see notes 1).
Peel and dice the carrot.
Deseed and roughly chop the peppers (see notes 3).
Blend the coriander, garlic, chillies, worcestershire sauce and orange juice until smooth (see notes 4).

Cooking

Frying Pan:- Over a low to medium heat, heat the oil (2) and cook the onions, stirring, for 5 min then stir in the rice and cook, stirring constantly, for a further 5 min.
Casserole:- After the first 5 mins of stage 1, using a little more oil if necessary add the blended coriander mixture to the casserole and cook over a low to medium heat for about 5 min.
Add the dry cider to the casserole and bring to a simmer over a medium heat.
Add the onions and rice from the frying pan to the casserole and add the chicken stock, season with freshly ground black pepper (2) and bring to a boil.
Add the carrot and reserved chicken breast, stir, cover and simmer for 15 min until the rice is cooked, adding a little more cider if needed to prevent drying and burning.
When the rice is cooked and the chicken is white throughout, place the peppers and peas on top and without stirring replace the cover and continue to cook for 5 min until the peppers are softened.

Notes

(1) The amount of chilli can be increased or reduced and deseeded, or not, to suit personal taste.
(2) The dry cider can be replaced by white wine. The cider / stock ratio can be changed for a flavour variation e.g. 100 ml stock and 150 ml cider, whatever you prefer.
(3) Any colour, or combination of colours, of pepper can be used.
(4) When blending small quantities it is easier to put the ingredients into a mug and use a hand (stick) blender.

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