Frontera Grill review/easy arroz con pollo by Rick Bayless

[ljt2r]

If I could have made that a triple thumbs up I would have!

After 10 years (literally) I finally got to go to Frontera Grill last weekend and it was amazing. Some of you have asked about it--a full review is on my blog, but suffice to say that thanks to a small plate menu I tried countless divine dishes for an incredibly reasonable amount of money. I was extra lucky in that there were 6 of us--so we tried a lot. It was ABSOLUTELY worth the hour wait and getting there 20 minutes or so before opening (the line was out the wazoo--thanks Top Chef and Obama). Here is the list of dishes we tried (and pics of the dish below).

When I got home I was still feeling inspired by my incredible experience at Frontera--but after 2 U2 concerts, one night of 4 hours of sleep before one and standing literally in line from 7 am on for the same one, and then driving home the next day, I was wiped. So I headed to Mexican Everyday and made this really wonderful rice and chicken dish.

Arroz con Pollo y Frijoles y Calabacitas (Chicken and Rice with Beans & Zucchini)
Adapted from Mexican Everyday, Rick Bayless

1 - 1.5 lbs chicken parts of choice, bone in and skin on
1 T olive oil
2 T ancho powder, divided
salt and pepper to taste, as called for below
1 t ground cumin
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 small-medium zucchini, diced
1 cup rice, rinsed and drained dry
5 garlic cloves
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 15-oz can beans of choice, rinsed and drained (I used homemade Vaquero from Rancho Gordo)
2 T chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Sweet tomato relish for garnish
Mexican hot sauce of choice (we like Tapatio)
queso fresco (I had none or I would have used)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Pull the skin partially off of the chicken and sprinkle half of the ancho powder (1 tablespoon) under the skin, along with salt and pepper. Place the skin back over the chicken. Sear the chicken in the pan, skin side down, for 5-7 minutes. Flip over, sear for 2 minutes, and then place the skillet into the oven and roast until the chicken is cooked through. When it is done, remove from oven and let cool until you can shred the meat off of the bones. Set the meat aside--save the bones for stock. In the meantime, drain the fat from the pan through a sieve into a prep bowl.

Heat a large pot over medium high heat. Add as much of the flavored chicken fat/oil as you want, at least 1 1/2 tablespoons. Add the onion and stir for 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir for another 4 minutes, until the rice starts to look dry and opaque. Add the garlic, zucchini, cumin and remaining chile powder and stir for another minute. Add the broth and up to a teaspoon of salt (I did not use any salt since I was using commercial broth), and stir well. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and let cook for 10 minutes.

Uncover the pot, and add the chicken and beans. Re-cover the pot and cook for an additional 12 minutes. Taste a bit of rice and make sure it is only barely not done--if it is less done than that, cover and cook another 5 minutes. When barely not done, uncover, stir in the green onions and cilantro, then remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 5 to 10 minutes. Taste for salt. Serve with garnishes.

**If you wish to double the recipe (as I did), only use 2 1/2 cups broth and, after the initial 10 minutes of cooking, bake it in a 350 F oven for 20-25 minutes. Make sure you use a wide pot to encourage even cooking fo the rice (10-12 inches across).

[dgeevanson]

Ok - I'm going to try this. It sounds yummy. I've had his book for 2-3 years and haven't made anything out of it
yet!

[cookieee]

Hi Laura, this would have been great to make for this weeks game.