DOMINICA: One-Pot Rice, Beans, and Chicken (Pelau)

This came together quite quickly and is simultaneously hearty and healthy! This dish is created for special occasions and represents the island's rich culinary heritage. Glad I made it, not only because of the above reasons, but also because I almost made a DR recipe. Thankfully I caught my mistake before I cooked!

One-Pot Rice, Beans, and Chicken (Pelau)

1 lb dark meat chicken on the bone

½ lemon

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon ground allspice

½ teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 can coconut milk

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 large onion

2 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated

1-2 Scotch bonnet peppers, chopped

1 bell pepper

1 large carrot

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup jasmine rice

1 cup dried lentils OR 1 can drained pigeon peas or kidney beans

½ cup shredded cabbage, optional

2 -4 cups chicken broth

Salt and pepper to taste

Fresh parsley for garnish, optional

1. Squeeze the lemon over the chicken, then season with the thyme, paprika, allspice, turmeric, salt, black pepper.

2. Heat a Dutch oven or large pot with a lid over medium heat. Once heated, add 2 tablespoons of the cream from the top of the can of coconut milk (you will use the clear milk further down) and the brown sugar to the pot. Stir until sugar melts. Add in the seasoned chicken, including any seasoning that has not adhered to the pieces. Rotate the chicken when the bottom browns, to brown it on all sides. Remove from the pot.

3. While the chicken cooks, chop the onion and mince the garlic. Once the chicken is removed from the pot, add the onion, garlic, and ginger to the pot, along with a few splashes of water. Turn heat to medium low and sauté until onion softens.

4. Stem, seed, and mince the Scotch bonnet. Stem, seed, and chop the red pepper. Peel and chop the carrot into large dice. Add both peppers, the carrot, and the tomato paste to the pot. Stir 5 minutes, until carrots just start to soften.

5. Add in lentils or beans, cabbage if using, 1 cup of the clear liquid from the coconut milk can, and 2-3 cups of chicken broth (3 if using dried lentils, 2 if using canned beans).

6. Cover and simmer 45 minutes minutes, stirring every few minutes and adding more broth and/or water to prevent sticking, until rice, and lentils if using, a tender.

7. Taste for seasoning. Garnish with parsley if using.

 #pelau #chickenandrice#dominica

FUN FACTS:

• The Dominican flag is one of only two national flags with the color purple. (Nicaragua is the other.)

• Much of the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, was filmed in Dominica.

• Dominica was the last Caribbean island to be colonized by Europeans. This was largely down to the fierce resistance of the native Kalinago people.