Recipe: Puerto Rican Chicken and Rice Stew

PUERTO RICAN CHICKEN AND RICE STEW

1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt to taste
1 (3 to 4 pound) chicken, cut into serving pieces
2 thick slices slab bacon
2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and minced
1 medium onion, minced
1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon drained capers
1/4 cup diced pimento-stuffed olives
2 cups medium-grain rice
1 cup fresh peas
4 pimentos, thinly sliced, for garnish
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Combine oregano, garlic and salt in small bowl and rub on chicken.

Cook bacon in a heavy casserole until fat is rendered; crumble and reserve.

Brown chicken in bacon fat, a few pieces at a time, over medium heat.

Return all chicken to pan. Add bacon, tomatoes, onion and green bell pepper. Cover and simmer over low heat for 25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Let cool.

Remove chicken meat from bones and return to pan. Add 6 1/2 cups of water, capers and olives and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add rice and simmer for another 15 minutes, or until rice is tender. Add peas during final 5 minutes of cooking.

When done, adjust seasonings and serve at once in soup bowls garnished with strips of pimento and Parmesan.

Makes 6 servings
Source: Beyond Gumbo: Creole Fusion Food From the Atlantic Rim by Jessica B. Harris