I don’t know about you, but I just adore latin flavors. When I first moved to New York City, many of my friends were from Puerto Rico, or with Puerto Rican heritage. I dove into their food, loved the flavors, and started trying to cook their dishes. It wasn’t as easy as it would be by now, Google wasn’t a thing yet, and if you wanted a recipe, you needed someone to tell you how to make it. Over the years I have (almost) perfected many latin dishes, and Pollo Guisado is without a doubt one of my favorites. It’s not hard at all, you just have to make sure you get all the authentic ingredients. It’s definitely a great family dinner, or maybe one to be served to good friends. If you make a large portion, you can refrigerate it for a few days, being that it reheats well, and makes a great leftover dish.
What you’ll need:
- 2 pounds of chicken breast (chicken thighs work as well)
- 1 tsp Adobo
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp sofrito (homemade or store bought)
- 2 packets Sazon
- 1 tbsp chicken bouillon (or 2 small cubes)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 3 cups water
- 2 large potatoes
- 3/4 cup baby carrots
- 2 bay leaves
- spanish olives (seeded)
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro (chopped)
Cut the chicken into one inch cubes, and season them with the Adobo. Add the olive oil to a large pot, and cook until the pieces start to get brown, about 5 minutes on each side. Remove from pot, and keep aside on a plate. In the same pot, add the sofrito, sazon, tomato paste, chicken bouillon, oregano, water, carrots, bay leaves and olives (use as many or as little olives as you like).
Lower the heat to medium. Add the chicken back to the pot. Simmer the Pollo Guisado for 45 minutes. Serve with white rice.
Bon Appétit!