-
1
Heat the oil in a large heavy pot, add chicken, and cook until golden brown.
-
2
Take out, and put in onions and garlic.
-
3
Cook over medium heat until transparent.
-
4
Add tomatoes, peppers, and tomato sauce, and simmer a little.
-
5
Add chicken, bay leaves, chopped parsley, salt, pepper, about 3 cups chicken broth (either homemade, canned, or bouillon powder and water), and saffron.
-
6
Turn flame low and cook until chicken is tender.
-
7
Take chicken out, and remove meat from bones, separating meat into medium size pieces or cubing it if you feel fancy.
-
8
This part of the recipe can be done the day before.
-
9
Measure liquid (if you wish, you can remove bay leaves and run the rest of the sauce through the food processor or blender).
-
10
Check the flavor; it should be rather salty.
-
11
Heat broth to boiling.
-
12
Use 1 cup of rice to about every two cups of liquid.
-
13
(This is where you can really stretch the chicken, depending on how many you think you have to feed.
-
14
Just adjust the amount of liquid and rice, using additional chicken broth and perhaps a small can of tomato sauce, but keeping the liquid to rice ratio at the old standby of 2 to 1.)
-
15
I understand the traditional figure is 1/2 cup of uncooked rice per serving.
-
16
This is a generous amount of rice by American standards, so you may luck out and have leftovers!
-
17
Heat some oil in a heavy frying pan or dutch oven, and add rice.
-
18
Stir constantly over medium heat until rice is a nice warm tannish color.
-
19
Combine rice with boiling liquid, and over high heat cook uncovered until the liquid has vanished below the rice.
-
20
Add olives, capers, and chicken, but do not stir.
-
21
Turn heat very low, and cover pot.
-
22
Simmer about half an hour, lift rice and turn carefully, and continue cooking until rice is done.
-
23
Just before serving, add about 2 cups cooked frozen peas, and about 3/4 of the pimientos.
-
24
Serve on a large platter, decorated with the asparagus and remaining pimiento strips, and some chopped parsley if the spirit so moves.
-
25
Serve the remaining sauce to be spooned over the rice as needed.
