Grandma’s Cuban Chicken Bake
I don’t
think my grandmother ever cooked anything quite like this, nor is it
particularly Cuban. It is my attempt to improve on a Cuban Chicken recipe that
a friend found. (Sort of like a novel I read long ago where the main character is
shown a boat called a “New England Whaler” because, he is told, they are not
made in New England and they are not used for whaling.)
However,
since she and my grandfather raised chickens during the depression and, when I
was growing up, she cooked practically everything in bacon grease, I rather
hope she would enjoy it.
At least,
her ghost hasn’t shown up to complain about it. ;)
2 boneless chicken breasts, sliced thin for stir-fry
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 zucchini, sliced and quartered
1 yellow onion, sliced and quartered
1 T minced garlic
2 T olive oil
1 bay leaf
½ tsp red pepper flakes
½ tsp seasoned salt
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground ginger
1 cup rice
2 cups water
1 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2.
Slice chicken breasts thinly for stir-fry and set aside in a bowl. Slice
onion and zucchini thinly, then cut into quarters. Place the vegetables in separate bowls and
set aside.
3.
Fry the bacon pieces over medium heat (about 5-6
on most electric ranges) in cast iron skillet until brown and mostly cooked but
not quite hard.
4.
Combine rice and water in 1.5 quart pot and heat
till boiling. Reduce heat and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the water is just about all absorbed and the rice is almost done. It will absorb moisture from the chicken with sauce in the oven, so don't overcook it.
5.
Raise heat in skillet to high and add chicken
slices. Stir fry for about 5 minutes until no longer pink. Remove chicken
slices and set aside.
6.
Remove skillet from burner, set it aside for later, and replace with a 2.5
quart pot. Heat olive oil in pot. Add onions, garlic and spices and sauté the
onions until translucent and slightly limp, about 4-5 minutes. Add the zucchini
and stir fry for about 2 minutes.
7.
Add the chicken and diced tomatoes (and use a little
water to rinse the can) to the onions and zucchini. Stir
the chicken and vegetables together and heat to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and boil slowly about 10-15 minutes to reduce the liquid by about half, until the rice is ready.
8.
Remove the pot from the heat and replace it with
the cast iron skillet.
9.
Heat the skillet briefly, then add the rice and bacon pieces into the bacon
fat in the skillet and stir quickly together until the rice is mixed with the bacon and grease.
10.
Spray a 9 x 13” baking pan with cooking spray.
Transfer the chicken-rice-vegetable mixture to the baking pan and bake in the
oven for 15 minutes.
