Scott always asks me to make Pollo Guisado or some sort of chicken and rice dish, but I could never live up to his expectations, until this dish. Even though this isn’t at ALL pollo guisado, at least I bought myself some time with this chicken and rice dish while I perfect my guisado techniques.

I did get the approval of some of the A’s WAGs on this dish! And their kiddies too!!! After making this dish for Scott, he was later traded to the Houston Astros and the Oakland ladies stop by before their game to help clean out my fridge and the first to go was the arroz con pollo, then the almond brittle from the Ferry building, and then ice cream and some other snacks. What was left was a sad empty container that once housed the delicious arroz con pollo and some happy WAGs and babies.

This post was supposed to go up FOR-EV-ER ago but I’m just now getting my life together so thank you for your patience!

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 whole chicken (cut into 10 parts – both breast cut in half)

4-5 large garlic cloves, minced

1 cup diced onion

1 Large red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 – inch pieces

1 small jalapeno finely minced (seeds removed)

1/4-1/2 pound andouille sausage chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp smoked paprika (do not omit this ingredient I have tested this without it and the recipe NEEDS it!)

2 Cups long – grain white rice

1 1/4 Cups dry white wine

1 Can diced tomatoes including juice (14 – oz)

1 3/4 Cups chicken broth

1 large bay leaf

1 Cup frozen peas (not thawed)

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

Garnish: chopped fresh flat – leaf parsley

Cut the whole chicken in 10 pieces or buy it pre butchered. As a substitute you can buy 2 chicken breast, some drumsticks, and some thighs all separate if you’d like. Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet or cast iron (at least 2 inches deep) over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken on all sides, about 12 minutes total. We aren’t cooking the chicken all the way through because it’s going to go back into the pan to finish cooking with everything else. Right now we are looking for a nice golden color all over the chicken. Transfer chicken with tongs to a plate. I feel like a cast iron works best for this recipe so I highly recommend it!

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from skillet and add onion, bell pepper, and salt to taste. Cook over medium for about 5 minutes. To the pan, add diced andouille sausage and sear for about 2 minutes then add diced jalapeño cooking for an additional 2 minutes until softened. Add garlic, paprika, and rice stirring for 1-2 minutes. Add wine and boil, uncovered, 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes with juice, chicken broth, and bay leaf. Nestle chicken in rice, adding any juices from plate.

Cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes until rice is tender and cooked through. If you are using a cast iron and don’t have a lid, then use a baking sheet to cover it and put another pot on top to weigh it down. Be carefully when uncovering it, the sheet pan and the pot on top are going to be hot! Remove from heat and stir in peas and salt and pepper to taste. Cover skillet and let stand 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Garnish with fresh parsley.

Masarap!