Peruvian Arroz con Pollo

📝 Ingredients

• 4 chicken legs (about 250 g each)
• 300 g long-grain rice
• 50 g fresh coriander (1 bunch, stalks included)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 chicken stock cube + 600 ml hot water
• 1 brown onion (about 150 g)
• 2 carrots (about 200 g)
• 1 red pepper (about 150 g)
• 150 g frozen peas
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large casserole dish with lid
• Stick blender or blender
• Chopping board
• Kitchen knife
• Wooden spoon

📖 Steps

1. Peel and finely chop the onion. Peel the carrots and cut them into small 1 cm dice. Deseed the pepper and cut it into dice of the same size. Peel the garlic cloves. Dissolve the stock cube in 600 ml hot water.
2. Rinse the coriander, shake it dry and trim only the bottom of the stalks, which is tougher: the rest of the stalks has lots of flavour. Blend it with the garlic and 200 ml of the stock until you have a very smooth green liquid, with no visible bits of leaf.
3. Remove the skin from the chicken legs by pulling it firmly with a piece of kitchen paper so your fingers don't slip. Bend each leg to find the joint and cut right at the fold to separate the drumstick from the thigh. Rub the pieces with the cumin, salt and pepper.
4. Heat the oil in a large casserole dish over a medium-high heat. Brown the chicken pieces for 4 to 5 min per side, without moving them, until nicely coloured. Set aside on a plate: they will finish cooking with the rice.
5. Lower to a medium heat and sauté the onion, carrots and pepper for 5 min in the same casserole dish, stirring, until the onion is translucent. Scrape the bottom with the wooden spoon to lift the browned bits left by the chicken: they give the rice lots of flavour.
6. Return the chicken and its juices to the casserole dish, then pour in the green purée and the rest of the stock (400 ml). Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15 min over a low heat: the chicken starts cooking through and flavours the liquid.
7. Scatter the rice around the chicken pieces, push it down into the liquid with the spoon and season lightly with salt. Cover and cook for 18 min over a very low heat without lifting the lid: it's the steam that cooks the rice.
8. Scatter the peas over the rice, cover and cook for another 5 min, then turn off the heat and leave to rest for 5 min, covered. The rice should be tender and have absorbed all the liquid, and the chicken juices should run clear when you pierce the drumstick near the bone. Fluff up with a fork and serve.