Cuban Chicken?

So, I used Cuban seasoning......would one call it Cuban Chicken? If you try the dish, let me know what I should call it! Inspiration from this dish came from Mario Batali, although I only used half of his recipe and changed it from Mediterranean to Cuban...yeah, I do that.

I made the meat part of this last night and put it in the fridge. It takes about an hour and a half to make the meat, so I thought I would do it ahead of time and warm it the next day. Today I made the rice and threw the chicken/stock into a pot over medium heat while the rice cooked. It warmed it up to a nice temperature and the dish was delicious! I will write out what I did and at the end let you know some suggestions that I will try next time. Don't get me wrong, I think the dish is fine as is, but dishes always have room for tweaking and changing to one's liking.

4-6 chicken thighs (boneless if you want), skinless
flour
1/4 C oil (plus a little extra)
1 Lg red onion, you may dice or slice thinly
10 shakes of McCormick Cuban Seasoning ~ okay maybe 2 t?
1 carrot, diced
4 C chicken stock
1C rice, cooked to package directions


Directions:

Dredge chicken in flour. In a deep dish pan (a pan with a lid) heat oil over med-high heat until smoking. Add chicken and brown on both sides, transfer to a plate. Repeat with any remaining thighs.

Turn heat to low. Add onions (and additional oil if necessary) to the dish. Cook for about 8-10 minutes or until soft. Add carrot and chicken stock, bring to a boil. Return chicken to dish and cover tightly. Bring temperature to Low and cook for 1 hour. Remove the lid and cook for 10 minutes.

Place rice on plate, top with chicken and sauce. Serve.

That all being said........


Mario's dish called for 1/2 t saffron threads to be added to onions, 1 C small green olives to be added to the carrot, and only add 3 C chicken stock. Also 6 servings of couscous instead of rice. Once you take the chicken out of the pot at the end, add 1/4 C fresh mint leaves. Stir leaves in sauce, then top over chicken.

What I would change to my dish......


I added another C of chicken stock because I wasn't sure if 3 was enough. The dish was DELICIOUS, but if you wanted less salt, try low sodium chicken broth instead of regular broth/stock ~ or homemade stock. I would also add more carrots and possibly celery or another vegetable. I'm sure the green olives would taste nice. I may add some fresh garlic to the onions and saute them together. I will use the McCormick Cuban seasoning again. I like that! I would have used couscous if I had any in my pantry. I think that's it.

Kid's Review:


Scott loved it! My 4 year old gobbled it up within minutes. My 2 year old is not eating much of anything right now, so I wouldn't put too much on him. And my husband hasn't had dinner yet......