Chicken Fricassee
Chicken Fricassee (Freak-ah-say) is one of my favorite dishes my mom cooked for us growing up. Like most of the recipes she hands down to me, this is an authentic Puerto Rican recipe that she learned from her mom and her older sister, Ceci, who makes a similar version - my craziest Aunt.
This past weekend, I went to visit my Mom at her super cute, new condo - it is damn near in the country from where I live in D.C. but I missed my Momma and she told me she was cooking - so obvi I took my ass to the country. I just got back from L.A. for work and was exhausted but had to go see my main girl. She's so cute that she made sure she had Rosé on chill for me when I walked in - if you haven't noticed from my Instagram I love Rosé, like LOVE.
As we normally do, we were catching up - well, mostly her asking me about my life, job, money, romantic life, 401 K, - you know, anything a Mom will ask you. I told her I was craving Chicken Fricasse and I wanted to make it this week for #JAHS but couldn't really remember the recipe. So while she was making her famous rice with Chorizo, I quickly jotted down the recipe in my notes section in my IPhone. I swear, the best dishes come from recipes that are never written down but just from memory or taste. Like I'm sure anyone's Momma's Mac N Cheese, right?
So last night, I stopped by my local Whole Foods on my way home from work to pick up some of the ingredients. Also, since I was out of town for a week all I had in my fridge was champagne, cherries and some lonely hummus.
Luckily, this is a one pot dish (iron skillet, preferably) and fairly simple to make. Now, every Puerto Rican makes theirs different but this is my Momma's recipe and it's pretty damn good! If you want to impress a new boo, I HIGHLY recommend this authentic dish. :-)
Try the recipe below and let me know how it turns out!
Chicken Fricasse
- 2 organic chicken breasts, bone in & skin on (cut into halves) or chicken thighs, bone in & skin on
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- 1 red pepper (sliced)
- 1 green onion (sliced)
- half Spanish onion (cut in half and sliced)
- 2 cloves of garlic (minced)
- 2 tablespoons Goya Tomato Sauce
- Chicken stock (just a little to make it a sauce)
- Goya Adobo seasoning, oregano, salt & pepper to season
- 1 cup of white rice (to be served over)
Since I didn't buy the chicken prior so I seasoned it before I made it, but if you have time, season the chicken with salt & pepper, oregano and A TON of Goya Adobo seasoning the night before.
In a medium cast iron skillet heat up some EVOO on high and sear the chicken for two minutes on each side to brown the skin. After 2-3 minutes take the chicken out of the pan and set aside (note: chicken will be raw so be sure to not put it back in the same container you used to seasoned it- remember cross contamination).
Saute your onions, peppers and garlic in the same pan for about 2 minutes on medium heat (add some more EVOO if needed). Be sure to season them with salt, pepper and more Adobo seasoning. Make sure they are not fully cooked as you're putting the chicken back in to cook & simmer all together. Make some pockets for the chicken, so you are not putting them on top of the veggies but around them and once the sauce starts to simmer keep basting or spooning the sauce over the chicken. Once the chicken is added back in the skillet add in tomato sauce and chicken stock (tip - my mom mixes the tomato sauce and chicken stock together, use your discretion as you don't want it too tomato soupy, you know). I put a tablespoon of tomato sauce in 1 cup of chicken stock and poured it around the chicken then continued to spoon the sauce over the chicken as the chicken cooked. For the best simmer cover the skillet with a lid or aluminum foil and let that baby simmer for about a half hour, depending how big your chicken breasts are.
If you are not sure if the chicken is ready, don't worry I am the same way, just cut the chicken down the middle to check. When ready, sprinkle some chopped cilantro on top and serve over white rice - don't worry, spoon over all the sauce you want!
Cheers to eating!
