Cheater's Asopao

I had found this post on Creative Noms, and was immediately intrigued. I've never even HEARD of asopao, let alone had tried it. And so, my desire to experiment was piqued. I was a bit hesitant, however, as I am allergic to shellfish, so needed to remove the death (read: shrimp) that was a component of this tasty dish. How would that affect the taste or cooking times? Oh noes!

So I decided to compromise, and just make life easier by assembling the asopao after the fact. Roast the chicken and sausage together, and cook the rice in the stock, and see how it goes, right? Also, if you've got a bunch of leftovers in the fridge, you can just rock it this way! Just let me know how it goes.

Cheater's Asopao

- 2 chicken breasts

- garlic powder

- cayenne powder

- crushed red pepper

- paprika

- olive oil

- 1 lb fresh chorizo

-2 peppers, cubed (I used one red and one green)

-1 yellow onion, cubed

-2-5 cloves of garlic (depending on your garlic preferences)

-32 oz of chicken stock (seafood is also an option)

-1 cup water

-1 cup brown rice (you can rock whatever kind of rice you'd like)

-1 jar sofrito cooking base

-2 bay leaves

-pepper

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2) Grease the pan with a thin layer of olive oil (I totally use a spray.) Coat the chicken breasts in oil and place in large glass casserole/baking dish.

3) Sprinkle (as much as you'd like) garlic, cayenne, paprika, and red pepper over the chicken breast. (If you're using the oil spray, then give the chicken another shot of it over the spices. It makes more of the spice stick to the chicken breast, acting like a faux chicken skin.)

4) Bake chicken for 30 minutes at 325 degrees F.

5) Take the chorizo and place in the baking dish with the chicken. Turn the oven up to 400 degrees F, and bake for 15 minutes, turning the chorizo once during cooking.

6) Let everything cool, then cube the chicken and slice the chorizo.

7) Add approx. 1/4 cup olive oil to a dutch oven (or a large stock pot). Add the cubed peppers and onions, and mix well. Cook on medium/high heat until the onion begins to soften.

8) Add the sofrito and dry rice, and mix until everything is covered.

9) Add stock, water, bay leaves, and cubed chicken, and simmer for 10 minutes.

10) Add the slices of chorizo, and simmer on medium until the rice is done.

This is extremely tasty with a hearty bread, and if you want it to be super super super good, let it sit overnight... if you can! :D