Author Notes
My children's second mom, our babysitter Norma Rivera, brought a lot of Puerto Rican food into our home. This recipe is easy, quick, and perfect for chilly nights. The sofrito, a puree of cilantro, sweet pepper, onion, and garlic, makes the dish fragrant and a little mysterious. You can use Italian frying pepper or any color of sweet pepper. Ajicito dulce is a particular kind of hot pepper, but a serrano can be used instead. The Adobo is a dry seasoning found in the Spanish section in most supermarkets. Alcaparrado is a mixture of green olives, capers, and pimentos, found in jars in the Spanish section. You may have to add water if reheating the next day, because the rice will soak up the broth. —luvcookbooks
Ingredients
- For the Sofrito
-
1
onion, diced
-
1
sweet pepper, diced
-
2
garlic cloves, chopped
-
1
handful cilantro, washed and chopped
-
1
ajicito dulce
- For the Asopao
-
8
chicken thighs and drumsticks
-
Adobo
-
3 tablespoons
olive oil
-
Sofrito recipe
-
1 cup
tomato sauce
-
3/4 cup
alcaparrado
-
4 cups
chicken stock
-
2 cups
water
-
2 cups
short or medium-grain rice
-
2 teaspoons
salt
-
1 teaspoon
pepper
-
2 cups
frozen green peas
Directions
-
Combine the onion, garlic, sweet pepper, hot pepper and cilantro in the blender with a few tablespoons of water. Blend until pureed.
-
Sprinkle the chicken on both sides with adobo. Set aside.
-
Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Add the sofrito, tomato sauce, and alcapparado. Simmer together for five minutes.
-
Add the chicken, broth, and water and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Stir in the rice, salt, and pepper, and simmer, covered for about 25 more minutes, until the rice is done and the chicken is tender.
-
Stir in the frozen peas and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes. Serve in bowls with baguette bread and butter on the side.
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