Arroz Con Pollo

Last Year's Post: Spicy Homemade Peanut Butter
Two Years Ago:  Gingered Turkey and Spinach Salad

Arroz Con Pollo (air-oz cohn poy-oh) is a traditional dish from Latin America and the Caribbean.  The translation from Spanish is "chicken with rice" but that's not nearly as fun to say.  Although there are many variations, chicken, rice, saffron, tomatoes and olives are standard.  This particular recipe also has peas and I switched out bone-in skin-on chicken pieces in favor of boneless skinless chicken thighs, which are healthier and easier to eat.

The taste reminds me somewhat of paella because both dishes have rice and saffron, but paella traditionally is seafood-based.  Another difference is the addition of the citrus juices used to marinate the chicken, a technique common in Latin America.  Although I don't consider this dish to be particularly fancy, it's very flavorful and a departure from your everyday chicken recipes, plus the fragrance from the saffron is wonderful.

It's not at all difficult but including the marinating time, this dish takes a little over two hours to prepare so if you need to have dinner on the table fast after work you might want to either make this in advance or plan to serve it on a weekend.  It reheats perfectly by the way, and leftovers make great work lunches. I love having leftovers for lunch - they're usually much healthier and more interesting than whatever you'll find in your cafeteria or the nearest fast food place, plus it's a lot cheaper.

click here for a printable recipe

Arroz Con Pollo

Serves 6-8

For chicken
3 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

For rice
1 lb onions, chopped (2 1/2 cups)
2 green bell peppers, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons salt
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
1 (14- to 15-oz) can diced tomatoes, including juice
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (12 fl oz)
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups long-grain white rice (3/4 lb)
1 cup frozen baby peas (not thawed; 5 oz)
1/2 cup small or medium pimiento-stuffed green olives (2 oz), halved crosswise
1/4 cup drained chopped bottled pimientos (2 oz), rinsed

Prepare chicken:

Purée garlic, orange juice, lime juice, salt, and pepper in a blender until smooth. Put chicken pieces in a large bowl and pour purée over them, turning to coat. Marinate chicken, covered and chilled, turning occasionally, 1 hour.  Transfer chicken, letting excess marinade drip back into bowl, to paper towels, then pat dry. Reserve marinade.  Heat oil and butter in 6- to 7-quart pot over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then brown chicken in 2 or 3 batches, without crowding, turning occasionally, about 6 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken as browned to a plate, reserving fat in pot.

Prepare rice and bake arroz con pollo:

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 350°F.

Sauté onions, bell peppers, and garlic in fat in pot over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally and scraping up brown bits from chicken, until vegetables are softened, 6 to 8 minutes.

While vegetables cook, heat saffron in a dry small skillet over low heat, shaking skillet, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add wine and bring to a simmer, then remove from heat.

Add cumin and salt to vegetables and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in saffron mixture, bay leaf, tomatoes (including juice), broth, water, and reserved marinade and bring to a boil. Add all chicken pieces and gently simmer, covered, over low heat 10 minutes. Stir in rice, then return to a simmer. Cover pot tightly, then transfer to oven and bake until rice is tender and most of liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes.

Scatter peas, olives, and pimientos over rice and chicken (do not stir) and let stand, pot covered with a kitchen towel, until peas are heated through and any remaining liquid is absorbed by rice, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf.

Healthy Homemade Spaghetti and Meatballs

If you'd like to receive notification of future Cracked Pepper posts you can sign up at left. I typically post once per week. Last Year's Post: Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

There are few meals that are more comforting than spaghetti and meatballs.  But why take the time to make it from scratch?  The over-riding reason for me is because you can control the fat and sodium while customizing the recipes to your taste.  Both of these recipes - the meatballs and the sauce - are healthy versions but still full of flavor.  In particular, the meatballs are made with chicken and turkey sausage and then baked before putting them in the sauce.  They're tender and delicious and would make a great meatball sub, or made in a smaller-sized version they're great in soups or as appetizers with a dipping sauce.  Before discovering this recipe we had previously bought frozen turkey meatballs that we liked, but they're very high in sodium.  I actually like this recipe better because the meatballs have more flavor and aren't as dense in addition to being lower in sodium.  If you like spicy food you could always substitute hot Italian sausage for the mild version called for in the recipe.

This is a good weekend project because the sauce takes a while to cook.  Make the meatballs while the sauce is cooking and freeze them for later. Tip: if you freeze them on a pan or rack before putting them in a freezer bag, they don't stick together and you can take out as many as you want.  You don't even have to thaw the meatballs - just drop them in a pan of sauce and they'll be nice and hot when the sauce is heated.

Both recipes make a lot so you'll have quite a few meals or you can hold a big family gathering.  The sauce is versatile and can be used in all kinds of recipes - lasagna, baked pasta dishes, chicken parmigiana, etc.

I always use low-sodium versions of canned tomato products whenever possible to keep the sodium content down, and I also like to use one can of fire-roasted tomatoes in this recipe to give it a little extra flavor and because I like the little black flecks.  It's a good basic recipe that you can vary by increasing or decreasing the spices.  Freeze the sauce in several meal-sized containers that you can later thaw and add olives, mushrooms, or whatever you want for that meal.

When I was a kid we didn't go to restaurants because we were "too young to behave properly in  a public restaurant".  Seems like a quaint idea today, doesn't it?  Anyway, take-out was the alternative and spaghetti was the first restaurant take-out food we had, so that fact alone made it incredibly exotic to me.  (Our family isn't Italian and my mother never made spaghetti at home.)  Even today spaghetti is a fun meal to me.  Make it from scratch for (or maybe even with) your family and it will be special for you too.

click here for a printable recipe version

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Makes 9 cups of sauce and 20 – 30 meatballs depending on size

For the meatballs:

¾ lb ground chicken
½ lb chicken or turkey Italian sausage, casings removed
2/3 cup fresh white bread crumbs
2 teaspoons minced garlic (two cloves)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
¼ cup freshly grated Romano cheese
¼ freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
3 tablespoons milk
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
Salt and pepper

 For the sauce:

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
½ cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried marjoram
½ dried basil
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes, undrained
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

Hot cooked pasta

To Prepare the Meatballs:

Preheat the oven to 350d. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Place the ground chicken, sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Romano, Parmesan, milk, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in a bowl and combine gently but thoroughly with your hands (plastic gloves are helpful).  Make any size meatballs you want, rolling them gently in your hands to make a smooth ball, and place on the parchment-lined pan.  Bake for 30 minutes until cooked through and lightly browned.  Set aside to serve with spaghetti sauce or freeze for later.  To freeze:  wait until the meatballs are thoroughly cool, then place the entire pan in the freezer until the meatballs are solid.  Remove the meatballs from the pan and place in a zip lock bag; freeze.  To reheat, place frozen meatballs into sauce and heat on medium for approximately 15 minutes.

To prepare the sauce:

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat; add onion and sugar.  Cook 5 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally.  Stir in wine; cook 1 minute.  Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer 1½ - 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Serve meatballs and sauce over hot cooked pasta with additional Parmesan on top.

Venetian Shrimp and Scallops

Last Year's Post: Chicken Salad with Fruits and Peppadews

This dish has a tomato-saffron sauce that is absolutely delicious with the tender scallops and shrimp.  (Be sure to serve it with lots of crusty bread for mopping up the sauce.)  It's very light, fresh and healthy with fragrant lemon zest and fresh basil, making it a perfect spring or summer seafood dinner. I can usually pretty well envision how a dish will taste just from reading the recipe, but I must say this one surprised me by just how insanely good it was the first time I made it.  It's become a regular repeater at our house, which only happens to the very best recipes since we like to try new ones so often.  If you like seafood you really should try it.

Saffron is a key ingredient in the flavor profile and the recipe won't be the same without it (ditto the lemon and fresh basil).  Crumble the saffron threads as you put them in the sauce for more flavor and more even distribution.  Someone gave me a teeny-tiny mortar and pestle for that very purpose several years ago.  I think it's hilarious because it's so small but I must admit it works great.  I've never seen them in any store and have no idea where it came from.  Don't you just love it?

I typically cut the scallops in half horizontally for this recipe, for a couple of reasons.  First of all, scallops should not be over-cooked or they get tough.  Since sea scallops are often really big, it's harder to be sure they're cooked all the way through without over-cooking them.  Cutting them in half results in a faster cook time, plus they're easier to eat and you have more of them in the dish.  I think five or six thinner scallops look much more attractive and plentiful (along with the shrimp) then two or three giant ones.  Searing them gives an attractive color, a nice caramelized crust, and additional flavor.

One thought about the diced tomatoes - I almost always use fire-roasted tomatoes because I think it adds a little more flavor and I like the little black flecks.  It's strictly a personal preference, but I would suggest checking the sodium content of whatever brand you choose because canned tomato products are notoriously high in sodium.  Same thing for the chicken broth.

This is a fast and easy meal to prepare so it's perfect for any night of the week, although I think it's certainly impressive enough to serve to company.

printable recipe
Venetian Shrimp and Scallops
Serves 4

¾ lb sea scallops, cut in half horizontally

¼ cup flour, seasoned with salt and pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 large shallot, finely chopped

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice

¼ teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled

¾ lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined

12 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn

1 lemon, zested

Hot crusty bread

Lightly coat the sea scallops in the seasoned flour.  Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil and butter.  When the butter has melted, add the scallops and brown for 1 minute on each side.  Remove.

Add a little more olive oil to the pan if necessary, then add the garlic, shallots, and crushed red pepper flakes.  Reduce heat and sauté 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add wine to the pan and scrape up any pan drippings.  Reduce wine 1 minute, then add chicken broth, tomatoes with their juice, and crumbled saffron.  When liquids come to a bubble, add shrimp and cook 3 minutes.  Return scallops to the pan and cook everything together for 2 minutes longer.  Transfer shrimp, scallops and sauce to individual shallow bowls and top with basil and lemon zest.

Pass with bread for mopping up the juices.