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Arroz atollado
Soupy rice with chicken and pork
Arroz atollado: Cali's soupy, achiote-gold rice with chicken, pork, chorizo and potatoes
Cali's cooks say the rice should be 'atollado', stuck in the mud: wet, creamy and spoonable, somewhere between a risotto and a thick soup. It is the Valle del Cauca's Sunday and paseo dish, cooked in a big pot by the river or for a crowd at home, with chicken, pork, Colombian chorizo and two kinds of potato all simmered into the rice, the whole thing coloured orange-gold with achiote. The papa criolla melts and gives the body; the meats give a deep, porky savour. Serve it straight from the pot with ripe avocado, fried plantain and a squeeze of lime, and don't wait: it keeps thickening as it stands. People often rinse the rice or use long-grain, which gives separate grains; medium-grain, unrinsed, keeps it creamy. Chef's tip: hold back a ladle of hot stock and stir it in just before serving to bring the rice back to that loose, muddy consistency.
- Total time
- 80 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 1 ⅛ lb boneless chicken thighscut into 3 cm pieces
- 14 oz pork shouldercut into 2 cm pieces
- 3 fresh Colombian pork chorizosabout 300 g, sliced into rounds; or fresh pork sausage
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 white onionfinely chopped
- 3 spring onionschopped
- 1 red pepperdiced
- 3 garlic clovescrushed
- 3 ripe tomatoesgrated, skins discarded
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 ½ tsp ground achiote (annatto)or 1 tsp sweet paprika plus a pinch of turmeric
- 7 ½ cups chicken stockhot
- 14 oz potatoesfloury, peeled, cut into 2 cm cubes
- 9 oz papa criollaor small waxy yellow potatoes, halved
- 10 ½ oz medium-grain ricenot rinsed
- 1 ½ tsp salt
To serve
- ½ oz fresh coriander (optional)chopped
- 1 avocado (optional)sliced
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Heat 2 tbsp sunflower oil in a large, heavy pot over a medium-high heat. Brown 3 fresh Colombian pork chorizos for 4 minutes, until it releases its red fat, then lift it out with a slotted spoon.
5 minStep 2: Brown 14 oz pork shoulder in the chorizo fat for 5 minutes, until coloured on all sides. Add 1 ⅛ lb boneless chicken thighs and cook 3 minutes more, turning, until it loses its raw look.
8 minStep 3: Add 1 white onion, 3 spring onions, 1 red pepper and 3 garlic cloves and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until soft.
5 minStep 4: Stir in 3 ripe tomatoes, 1 tsp ground cumin and 1 ½ tsp ground achiote (annatto) and cook for 5 minutes, until the tomato has thickened and the mix is a deep orange.
5 minStep 5: Pour in 6 ½ cups chicken stock, add 14 oz potatoes and 9 oz papa criolla and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, until the potatoes start to soften.
12 minStep 6: Stir in 10 ½ oz medium-grain rice, 1 ½ tsp salt and the chorizo. Simmer over a low heat, uncovered, for 20–25 minutes, stirring often from the bottom, until the rice is soft, the papa criolla has collapsed and the liquid has turned thick and creamy.
22 minStep 7: Check that the pork has reached 160°F and the chicken 165°F (they will after this long a simmer). Stir in the rest of 1 ¼ cups chicken stock to loosen, taste for salt and serve at once with ½ oz fresh coriander and 1 avocado.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 36 g
- Carbs
- 54 g
- Fat
- 21 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does arroz atollado take?
- About 80 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 60 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of boneless chicken thighs?
- Chicken breast, same weight (cook a few minutes less so it stays juicy).
- What can I use instead of white onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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