Valley-Style Arroz con Pollo

Ingredients

• 3  bay leaves 
• 2 teaspoons pepper black freshly ground plus more for chicken
• 8 ounce tomato sauce canned
• 14.5 ounce canned tomatoes diced canned
• 3 pound chicken skinless cut into 8 pieces,
• 3  garlic clove minced
• 1 cup bell pepper green finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin 
• 3 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1 cup onion finely chopped
• 1 cup peas frozen
• 2 teaspoons chicken plus more for chicken
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste 
• 1 cup rice long-grain white

Equipment

• frying pan
• paper towels
• oven
• casserole dish
• aluminum foil

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan set over high heat, and add 4 pieces of the chicken. Fry the chicken until browned, about 5 minutes on each side.
4. Transfer the chicken to a paper towel–lined plate and set aside. In small batches, continue to fry the remaining pieces of chicken.
5. Add the rice to the oil remaining in the pan and fry over medium-high heat until it is golden brown, about 10 minutes.
6. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, onion, bell pepper, peas, tomato paste, garlic, bay leaves, cumin, 2 teaspoons of salt, 2 teaspoons of black pepper, and 2 1/2 cups of the broth. Bring to a boil, then transfer to a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish.
7. Add the chicken to the casserole dish, nestling the white meat into the rice to prevent it from overcooking, and place the dark meat on top of the rice. Cover the dish with foil and bake until the rice is tender and the chicken is no longer pink, 40 to 50 minutes. If needed, add more chicken broth, 1 cup at a time, to the dish during baking to keep the chicken and rice moist.
8. From The Casserole Queens Cookbook by Crystal Cook & Sandy Pollock. Copyright © 2011 by Crystal Cook and Sandy Pollock; Food photographs copyright © 2011 by Ben Fink. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers.Crystal Cook and Sandy Pollock, the Casserole Queens, have been delivering casseroles in Austin, Texas, since 2006; they also teach cooking classes at Whole Foods stores in the area. They have been featured on Food Network's Throwdown! with Bobby Flay and Bobby Flay Radio on Sirius XM, as well as on television news and radio talk shows.