This is a one-dish quick and easy dinner. Chicken and rice made with Puerto Rican sofrito is the secret to this dish. Sofrito is a seasoning sauce used in many Spanish, Caribbean and Latin American dishes. The base for the Puerto Rican sofrito is made with green bell peppers, culantro (saw-leaf coriander, a relative of cilantro) and ajies dulces (sweet cooking peppers.) It’s an herbal sauce that adds fragrance and flavor to many dishes.
Fresh cilantro and cubanelle peppers or other mildly hot peppers can be used in place of culantro and ajies dulces. Cubanelle peppers are elongated and light green in color. They’re similar to Anaheim peppers and are mildly hot.
Fred Tasker’s wine suggestion: Puerto Rican Chicken and Rice: A flavorful combination. I’d try a soft, red shiraz from Australia.
Helpful hints:
• The sofrito recipe below makes about 1 1/2 cups sauce.
• White wine or chicken broth can be substituted for the beer.
Countdown:
• Make the sofrito.
• Brown chicken.
• Complete the dish.
Shopping list:
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for tonight’s Quick Fix Dinner.
To buy: 2, 8-ounce chicken breasts with bone, 1 package white long-grain rice, 1 bottle beer, 1 package frozen peas, 1 container sliced sweet pimentos, 1 cubanelle pepper, 1 tomato, 1 bunch cilantro, and 1 cubanelle pepper or other mildly hot pepper,