Fricasé de Pollo Recipe – a lo Cubano

As you know, I’ve recently been participating in Mizkan’s™ Cooking Challenges. See here and here.

To kick off Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 through October 15), we were asked to share a recipe from our country, or “Receta de Mi Pais.”

For this challenge, I chose to enter one of my family’s favorites, Fricasé de Pollo.

The Original Story* about the Fricasé de Pollo goes like this:

The first time my husband (then boyfriend) was to meet my big, fat, Cuban family, my mom made what we would consider a regular (albeit wonderful!) Cuban meal.

I spent days and hours preparing Eric for the meet and greet. I explained our customs, our politics, what topics were allowed and what NOT to bring up. I could have written a complete guide to meeting the Cuban girlfriend’s parents.

In fact, I still may. I think I’ll call it – “Huat to Especk if Ju Don’ Espik Espanish.”

I coached him on what to say to my dad. I told him how he was expected to treat my mom. I told him our island history and my family history. I told him the number and names of all my siblings and their offspring.

I explained that if all else failed, to just nod and smile. I thought I had told him everything he needed to know.

For the dinner, my mom made a typical Fricasé de Pollo.

So it surprised me, after he passed the Cuban Family Review (with flying colors, of course), when he said:

“You didn’t tell me your mom was an amazing gourmet cook.”

“Umm… she’s not. She’s just Cuban. Like me.”

He proposed just a few days later. =D

*posted on Babalú blog on August 9, 2007

Fricasé de Pollo Recipe a lo Cubano

(This recipe works well for both slow cookers and pressure cookers)

The challenge was to use one of the Holland House brands in the recipe. I chose Holland House White Cooking Wine.

3-4 lbs. Chicken pieces (I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs)
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
½ tsp. cumin
garlic powder
1/3 cup olive oil
3 cups red potatoes, cut into cubes
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 – 15 oz. can tomato sauce
2 packets Goya® Sazón Completo
1 1/2 cup Holland House® White Cooking Wine
1 cup Bitter Orange Juice* (see recipe below)
½ cup green olives (stuffed with pimientos)
½ cup raisins
1 tsp. oregano
2 bay leaves

Make the sofrito by sautéing the onion, bell pepper, and garlic until the onion is translucent.
Season the chicken pieces with cumin and garlic powder.
Add chicken back into the slow cooker or pressure cooker along with the rest of the ingredients.
In the slow cooker – cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5.
In the pressure cooker – cook on high pressure for 35 minutes.
Serve over white rice.

Disclosure: This post is part of a sponsored series to promote Mizkan cooking wines, vinegars and marinades. I also received samples of Mizkan’s Holland House, Nakano and World Harbor brand products and promotional material from Mizkan to assist in preparing the posts. All opinions and recipes in this series are my very own.

* Bitter Orange Juice (Naranja Agria) Recipe

If you can’t get bitter orange juice in your area, it is just as easy to make your own: