A Hearty Chicken and Rice Soup from Ecuador: Aguado de Gallina

Chicken Soup = Comfort

Aguado de Gallina | Dara O’Brien

By Dara O’Brien
Creative Director, Lake Isle Press

If comfort food is defined as food from our childhood, my version would consist of noodles or pancakes with butter (or SpagettiOs); jelly sandwiches on Wonder Bread, Twinkies, and Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup. My childhood diet was the food equivalent of sweatpants.

What I eat has evolved over the years, yet my comfort food still echoes my youth. SpaghettiOs, no; Orecchiette al Fumo, yes. Jasmine rice has bumped Wonder Bread as my go-to carb. Soup is at the top of my list of favorite foods, but my steady diet of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle has morphed into an embrace of soups of all kinds, though more likely homemade by me than out of a can.

Case in point: this recipe for Aguado de Gallina by Chef Jose Garces from his book “The Latin Road Home” published by Lake Isle Press. As Jose notes in his book, this kind of chicken and rice dish is typical of Latin home cooking, so while it might not have been part of my experience when I was growing up, it is preferred comfort food for people from all over Latin America. After making a tasty batch of this the other day, I’m inclined to agree.

It comes together with readily available ingredients with the exception of achiote paste, which I had some trouble tracking down. It was too important to leave out, so I ultimately got it online (only to find it in a local store the next day). Once I had it I was was good to go.

The recipe is easy to follow and uses only one pot, always a bonus. There’s a little prep involved, mainly mincing and dicing, so precut and canned tomatoes could be a time-saver. For convenience, I used frozen peas.

There are many things I loved about this soup; how fun it is to layer in the ingredients, how great it smells while it cooks, and how flavorful it is, especially if you serve it with the Ají Costeño hot sauce that Jose recommends, as I did, (I made it from scratch following his recipe, subbing jalapeño for fresno chiles). The ají adds brightness and a little heat.

But I think what really puts this soup over for me is the texture. The rice melds with the stock, heightening the texture but not completely defining it. And since texture is arguably the most important element of comfort food, at least as far as I’m concerned (hello, mashed potatoes), this recipe was a hit—for me as well as my dinner guests. This version of chicken and rice may not have been a typical meal for me growing up, but I’m guessing it will be going forward.  

Aguado de Gallina
Chicken and Rice Soup With Achiote

Click here for printable recipe.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

3 lb bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces (preferably legs and thighs)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Spanish onion, chopped
2 Tbsp minced garlic (4 to 6 cloves)
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 Tbsp whole cumin seeds, toasted and ground
2 Tbsp achiote paste
1 tsp Spanish smoked hot paprika
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 ½ qts chicken stock
2 fresh bay leaves
3 large plum tomatoes, diced
1 cup long-grain white rice
2 lb russet potatoes, peeled and diced small (4 cups)
1 large carrot, peeled and diced small
1 lb fresh English peas, shelled and blanched (1 cup)
1 Tbsp minced fresh oregano, or 1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro
Ají Costeño for serving

PREPARATION

  1. Generously season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven over high heat and sear the chicken in batches until skin is crispy and golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate.

  2. Lower the heat to medium, add the onion, garlic, and bell pepper to the skillet and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are translucent,
about 10 minutes. Add the cumin, achiote paste, paprika, and tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 to 5 minutes. Return the chicken to the pan, add the stock and bay leaves, and bring to a low boil over medium-high heat. Stir in the tomatoes and cook about 5 minutes.

  3. Add the rice, potatoes, and carrot and return to a simmer. Cook, covered, until the chicken is tender and falling off the bone and the rice is fully cooked, about 40 minutes.

  4. Stir in the peas, oregano, parsley, and cilantro and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately with ají.

Ají Costeño

INGREDIENTS
4 red Fresno chiles, seeds and ribs removed, finely diced
1/2 plum tomato, finely diced
1/4 Spanish onion, finely diced
2 scallions (white and green parts), finely chopped
2 Tbsp minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp distilled white vinegar
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp agave nectar
Kosher salt

PREPARATION

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl except for the salt and mix well. Remove half of the vegetables and set aside in a separate bowl. Pulse the remaining half in a food processor only until the vegetables are finely chopped; it should not be a smooth sauce. Fold in the reserved vegetables. Season the sauce to taste with salt. Chill before using.

Recipes from “The Latin Road Home” by Jose Garces, Lake Isle Press, 2012

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