Friday, June 3, 2011

Pollo Guisada


Brooke came home last week from 19 months in sunny Puerto Rico and is already missing some of the food.  Puerto Rican cuisine has its roots in Spanish, African, Amerindian, and after it became an American territory, American food influences crept in.  It's not spicy hot but has many layered flavors.  Soooo good an not at all what I was expecting.

Pollo Guisada starts with sofrito, the base of Puerto Rican cuisine.  Sofrito is to Puerto Rican food what a mirepoix is to French cooking or the trinity is to Cajun/Creole Cuisine. The Guisada was full of pieces of chicken on the bone, peppers, garlic, onions, herbs, tomato sauce, potatoes, and cilantro.  Delicious!!!  The recipe follows and I heartily recommend that you try this one.  Your family will love it.

Brooke served this with a bean/potato dish over white sticky rice and she made tostones (fried plantains) as well.  The meal was filling but didn't leave us feeling stuffed.  Everyone loved the flavors and textures of this meal.  I think the cuisine was the "best thing" she brought home to us (besides herself of course).

Stay tuned for the Habichuelas Rojas Guisada (bean/potato dish) recipe later this week.
















Puerto Rican Pollo Guisado

1 whole chicken, cut up or 3 lbs. of chicken pieces
1 Tablespoon of oil for skillet
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
¼ cup of chopped cilantro
2 tsp. of oregano or 1 package Sazon seasoning (Goya or Knorr brand)
1 bay leaf
8 oz. of tomato sauce
3 cups of chicken broth or water
3 cubed russet potatoes, with scrubbed skin left on
1-2 Tablespoons of Sofrito (may use Goya brand or make from scratch)

Wash and dry the chicken pieces, then salt and pepper. Brown the chicken in the oil. Remove chicken to a platter.

Sweat the onion and bell pepper over medium-low heat until soft and translucent and golden brown. Add the garlic and sofrito and cook for 1 minute.

Put the broth, tomato sauce, seasoning packets, bay leaf, and cilantro into the pot with the vegetables. Stir. Add chicken pieces. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover loosely and cook for 30 minutes. Add more liquid if needed so pot does not boil dry. Check for seasoning. Add salt and pepper as desired.

Add the potatoes and cook 20 minutes or so until the potatoes are cooked through and tender.

Serve warm
This recipe easily serves 6 to 8 people.





16 comments:

  1. This looks delicious! Welcome Home Brooke! I bet you are all loving having her home. So fun.

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  2. Yum! That sounds delicious! I have no idea what Sofrito is, but I'll have to look for some the next time I'm at the grocery. Thanks for sharing.

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  3. How great that she wanted to cook for you right away. Sounds like an amazing meal. So glad she's home safe and sound.

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  4. That's so great that your daughter is cooking Puerto Rican cuisine for you. Sounds delicious! It must be wonderful to have her home!

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  5. Oh my -- that looks so good! I love that kind of food, but I'm hopeless at cooking it ;(. I might have to get brave and try this one though.
    Blessings,
    GG

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  6. Yum!!!! I've had this before and love it, especially with plantains, like in the photo. Now I'm in the mood for it.

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  7. looks wonderful!
    we make pollo guisada from Dominican Republic. I'll have to try yours sometime!!

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  8. Ok, first, I need to start by saying that this is the very first time (of 20 years that I've been cooking) that I've EVER commented on a recipe. Second, my husband is the most pickiest man on the face of this earth. I have never, in 16 years of marriage, ever gotten a 10 with any meal I've made. It's always "missing something"

    With that being said - I got a 10!! He was licking the plate clean!! So good that he REQUESTED I make this again for the second time this week (making it right now as we speak). So thank you for this recipe!!

    Side note - I made no changes other than adding some whole green olives with the potatoes. Yum!!!

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  9. Ok, first, I need to start by saying that this is the very first time (of 20 years that I've been cooking) that I've EVER commented on a recipe. Second, my husband is the most pickiest man on the face of this earth. I have never, in 16 years of marriage, ever gotten a 10 with any meal I've made. It's always "missing something"

    With that being said - I got a 10!! He was licking the plate clean!! So good that he REQUESTED I make this again for the second time this week (making it right now as we speak). So thank you for this recipe!!

    Side note - I made no changes other than adding some whole green olives with the potatoes. Yum!!!

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    Replies
    1. So glad you enjoyed this recipe Jessica. We make it often. Thanks for stopping by.

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  10. I made this tonight. The only change I made was to put some Mild Salsa in to give it a kick. Everyone loved it. This wl def be a keeper. Thanks for sharing.

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  11. I just made this. Added some small chunks of corn on the cob and baby carrots at the same time as the potatoes. Some white rice, a fresh slice of avocado...simply delicious! Thanks for this easy to understand, yet delectable recipe. Definitely a keeper

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  12. I made this last week and it was delicious! My only tweak was that I used the whole onion and a green pepper, also, I added an additional packet of sazon (found it to be slightly bland to my liking) and 1/4 cup of cilantro. This brought my Pollo Guisado to a whole different level of awesomeness!!

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  13. This was so awesome! Can't even believe how good it came out. My husband raved over it and he's PuertoRican so it's hard for me to make it as good as his moms!!!

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  14. Replies
    1. Glad you liked it and thanks for commenting. I don’t write much for my blog anymore but I’m glad you liked the recipe😊

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