Pollo Guisado
October 13, 2024 • One Dish Meals, Soup
We were invited to dinner at the home of one of our new friends in Puerto Rico last winter. “I’m just making something really simple,” she told me before we showed up. I had included her in a dinner party for friends where I made a full array of Italian dishes, and I think she was worried I would be unimpressed with her dish. She need not have worried – as soon as I tasted the first bite of this classic Puerto Rican stew, I was in love and knew I’d need to create my own recipe. My version uses the sofrito I learned from my partner’s aunt and a makeshift Sazon-adobe seasoning mix I created. A classic version of this stew would include green olives, but I’m not a huge fan of olives in my food, so omitted them. Serve this on its own or over rice. Leftovers freeze just fine!
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon turmeric (see Notes)
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika (see Notes)
- 1 roasting chicken, cut into parts, skin on
- 1 tablespoon Sazon-adobo seasoning
- 1 white onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 1 medium potato, diced
- 2-4 garlic cloves, minced
- ⅓ cup sofrito
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
- Diced avocado, for garnish
- Heat the oil, turmeric and paprika over medium high heat. While the oil is heating, season the chicken pieces well with about 1-2 tablespoons of the Sazon-adobo seasoning. Working in batches, brown the meat in the oil on all sides, removing to a platted to complete all of the pieces.
- Add the onion and carrot to the pot and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the potato, garlic, sofrito, tomato sauce, stock, and bay leaves, and stir to combine.
- Nestle the pieces of chicken in the mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and pull out the chicken from the stew. Discard the bay leaves. Discard the skin and bones and roughly shred the meat, then return it to the stew.
- Serve as a soup/stew garnished with fresh parsley and avocado, or if desired, serve over rice.