Wednesday, January 9, 2019

ONE POT CUBAN YELLOW RICE (WITH CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE)

ONE POT CUBAN YELLOW RICE (WITH CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE)
I love me some Cuban food. My all time favourite is my fried stuffed potato balls and I know everyone loves some Cuban black beans. Living in South Florida we can find Cuban food of some type readily available at every corner which is amazing.
But then my cousin moves to Cuba to work and she easily falls into the food and the culture there and I get even more excited
I've never been to Cuba, yet, but the images in my head are of worn streets, bright buildings, music blaring in the street all filled with an old school charm. Am I wrong?
The food, I already know from experiencing here, but my cousin easily pulled me into trying things as she starts to cook more while there.And she loves rice.
So it was no shocker when she mastered and shared with me this one pot rice cook up.
I made a few adjustments. Traditionally this dish uses pork sausages, but since I don't eat pork, I easily substituted for turkey sausage (Not in a pork casing). I am not even sure why they sell turkey sausages in a pork casing. Isn't that defeating the purpose?
I love that this dish doesn't take long AND that it doesn't require me making too much of a mess. Sometimes after making dinner I look around and wonder when this war happened in my kitchen. So definitely a winner with me when this is made.
INGREDIENTS:
  • Canola Oil
  • 3 chicken breasts cut into small/medium pieces
  • 2 turkey sausages (I use Jennie-O Lean Hot Italian Turkey Sausage) cut into pieces (pre-cooked is best but uncooked can also be used)
  • 1/2 large green pepper
  • 1/2 large onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 teaspoon whole cumin (or 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder)
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 4 cups chicken broth or vegetable stock (make your own)
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)
  • 2 cups white parboiled rice
  • 1/4 cup frozen green peas
  • 1/4 cup frozen corn
  • 1 cup of any other veggies you like: red peppers, carrot, even broccoli, edamame etc
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS:
  1. Cover the bottom of a large heavy pot with oil. (No more than 1 1/2 teaspoons)
  2. Heat stove on medium heat.
  3. Add garlic, turmeric, and cumin and cook for about 2 minutes.
  4. Add sausage and chicken to pot, and cook for about another 8 minutes.
  5. Add chopped green peppers and onion and cook for another 5 minutes.
  6. Add chicken broth and wine (if using) and heat to boiling.
  7. Once boiling, add rice and reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
  8. Add peas and other veggies and stir cover and continue simmer until rice is cooked (water has evaporated)