Cuban Chicken & Rice

January 2026

This recipe comes from a childhood friend.  Clara was a grammar school classmate; she was gracious enough to share a family tradition with our Cooking Class in a public school in Northern Northern New Jersey.  She and her Cuban family had just fled the warm collectivism of Fidel Castro for those chilly waters of rugged individualism that, once-upon-a-time, proudly beckoned them to New York Harbor.

I’ve updated her recipe just a bit.  Olive oil is substituted for Mazola.  I cook the concoction in a tagine, not a big Farberware pot.  Lots of Mazola oil was added to the bottom of that pot to prevent the rice from sticking!

Other than those two changes, however, this repast remains pretty much the same as I recall it from many decades ago.  It’s a delightfully simple but delicious chicken-and-rice that allows the components to speak for themselves, to be what they are, naturally, freely, unpretentiously.

Clara was a soft-spoken, somewhat shy girl.  She didn’t speak much English, if any; none of us teen-gals spoke her native tongue, Cuban Spanish.  Our Home-Economics teacher, Mrs. R., who really didn’t like teenaged girls, cooking, or sewing, assigned me the task of assisting Clara in the classroom-cuisine.

It’s possible that Mrs. R. was aware that friendship is a universal language, but I doubt it.  My direct style of communication, non-verbal as well as verbal, had been noticed, and not kindly, by this Boomer E-school grad.

The beauty of this recipe is its simplicity.  Very few herbs are used, allowing the flavors of the chicken and vegetables to infuse the rice.  The aroma alone is one reason to create this meal.  In summer, scallions, or green onions, can be added at the last minute to the tagine before serving the meal.

I add Spanish green olives on the side, but I do not recall that ingredient in this original recipe.  They might not have been authentic; or such an extravagant purchase would not have been sanctioned, authorized or otherwise approved within the Tightwad Public School Budget of my coming-of-age era.

Mrs. R., known for being a prissy skinflint, certainly would not have condoned the excessive stimulus to the taste buds of any girl, at any price!

My, how times have changed!

The current corruptly shambolic government school system is truly worthy of any and all thanks for Their Attention to This Matter!

The matter of good eats herein won’t break anyone’s bank. For that merciful reality, I give thanks to el buen Dios.

Cuban Chicken & Rice

2 half-chicken breasts, skinned, with fat cut off, and chopped roughly

3 chicken thighs, skinned, with fat cut off, and chopped roughly

1 cup white rice

1 cup chicken broth

1 15-oz. can petite cut tomatoes, with juice

2 plum tomatoes, quartered

1 red bell pepper, cut into thick strips

1 yellow onion, cut coarsely

3 bay leaves

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp basil

1-1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste

1 tsp ground black pepper

Sauté onion, bell pepper, chicken pieces.  Add tomatoes and herbs and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add rice & broth.  Transfer to tagine.

Cover and cook till done, about 45 minutes, or till Class is Over!  We had a springtime luncheon in that classroom of the Normal Long-Ago.

This meal, however, tastes best when it’s left to rest for half an hour.  The flavors savour that way.

In January, the tomatoes might not be fresh, but they do add un-adulterated nutrition, flavor, texture, and color. Try to locate the best tomatoes possible in your local market.

¡Que aproveche!