Puerto Rican Pollo Guisado (Sofrito Stewed Chicken)
Bone-in chicken braised in a tomato-sofrito sauce with olives and potato, a comforting staple of Puerto Rican home cooking.
Pollo guisado is the dish that shows up on Puerto Rican stovetops on a regular weeknight, built on sofrito — a blended base of onion, garlic, cubanelle pepper, and cilantro — that forms the backbone of so much of the island's cooking. Achiote-based sazón adds its distinctive color and savory depth, and briny olives folded in near the end give the sauce a salty punch that plain tomato sauce alone wouldn't have.
Bone-in chicken and a good long simmer are what make the sauce here, since the bones release flavor and gelatin as everything cooks down. This is a naturally gluten-free, high-protein dinner that scales up easily for a family table — leftovers, if you get any, tend to taste even better the next day once the sauce has had more time to soak into the chicken.
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs bone-in, skinless chicken thighs and drumsticks
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 0.5 cup sofrito (blended onion, garlic, cubanelle pepper, cilantro)
- 1 tsp achiote-based sazón seasoning
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 large potato, cubed
- 1 cup pimento-stuffed green olives
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro, for garnish
Most ingredients here are everyday market staples across West Africa. A handful of specialty items may be easiest to find at a local open-air market or an African grocery store if you're elsewhere.
Instructions
- 1Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and sear the chicken until browned on all sides; set aside.
- 2Add sofrito and sazón to the pot; cook 2 minutes until fragrant.
- 3Stir in tomato sauce, broth, bay leaves, and olives. Return the chicken to the pot.
- 4Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook 25 minutes.
- 5Add the potato and simmer 20 minutes more until the chicken and potato are tender.
- 6Remove the bay leaves, garnish with cilantro, and serve.