E&L's Arroz Imperial 1.0

Fresh quality ingredients + a pinch of love will always result in a tasty dish.

This is one of our versions of Imperial Rice (Arroz Imperial). This Imperial Rice recipe is a chicken and rice dish layered and baked to infuse mouthwatering ingredients. Perfect to serve during family dinners, truly a dish that keeps on giving and having friends coming back for seconds. In the Latin culture, it is customary to pair the rice dish with a ripe banana or platanito manzano (commonly known as the "apple banana"). To truly lift your taste buds, pair this with a Di Giovanna VURRIA Nerello Mascalese Rosato DOC Sicilia 2021 glass of wine.

Note: Easy to follow links have been to added to certain ingredients not commonly found. Also links to the wines and evo have been added as the wine(s) mentioned are actually paired by a winery in Sicily and not found in the states. For quality ingredients that you can have delivered right to your front door, go to Amazon Fresh - follow this link or Amazon Whole Foods Market .

VURRIA Rosato di Nerello Masca

Serves: 4-6

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 45 min

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

2 tbsp. sour orange juice

2 tbsp. olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, mashed

1 bay leaf or 1 tsp of bay leaf powder

1 sprig of fresh parsley

1 sprig of fresh rosemary

1 sprig of fresh thyme

1 tbsp. of turmeric

1 cup of mixed onion, red & green pepper. (frozen or fresh)

1 cup of white drinking wine

1 tbsp. salt

1 tsp of pepper flakes

1/4 cup of mayonnaise

12 oz. of vegetable broth

4 oz. or block gruyere cheese

2 cups of Jasmine rice

2 tbsp. butter

Cooking Steps

1. On a deep pan, turn heat to medium high and add about a teaspoon of olive oil. Place place butter, mashed garlic, pepper flakes and sauté for 3 minutes. Add vegetable broth, bay leaf, chopped fresh parsley, rosemary, thyme, turmeric, onion, red & green peppers, white wine, and sour orange. Bring to a boil. Add chicken breast and cover. Turn heat to medium and cook for 35 min till chicken is tender and falls apart. Move chicken to a small bowl and allow to cool. Do not get rid of the liquid.

2. While chicken is cooling, heat up a pot with oil and butter, add Jasmine rice and toast lightly. Add 1 clove of garlic and 3 cups of the broth where chicken was cooked in. Make sure you get as much of the ingredients that made up the broth. Bring to a boil, stir, cover and cook without lifting the cover for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the cover and with a fork fluff the rice and set aside.

3. While rice is cooking, start shredding the chicken as finely as you can. I use two forks to do this, but may opt to use your hands. Make sure you wash your hands well before. After chicken has been shredded, separate into two halves.

4. On a 8"x4" aluminum foil loaf pan, place about 2 Tbsp. of the leftover liquid used to cook the chicken as a base layer. Spoon about 3 Tbsp. of the rice to create your first layer. Then add half your shredded chicken on top of the rice, haphazardly, and add your gruyere cheese on top. Don't overdo the cheese since it will melt and coat that layer completely.

5. Next add a about 2 Tbsp. of rice and press down to compact the later before adding a small ladle-sized of the chicken cooking liquid on top. Next, add the mayo. We use the squeeze bottle as it's easier to place as much or as little mayo on this layer as you'd like. Add on top of the mayo, the chopped veggies and arrange to cover the rice and mayo.

6. Cover with another layer of rice and chicken cooking liquid to keep it all moist. Next add the second half of your shredded chicken and cover with additional gruyere cheese. Cover with the remaining rice and cheese as the top layer.

7. Place back in the oven and broil on high for about 5 minutes or until the top of the cheese is golden and melted.

8. Remove from the oven and let it rest for about 2 minutes. Cut and serve. Enjoy!