Spanish Chicken and rice

I haven't done a food post for a while because, well, I haven't cooked for a while! My kitchen supplies were all shipped out between August 1st and 15th. Since then, I have lived at my parents' house, a guest house, 2 hotels, and now this home. My kitchen is only partially stocked now, but I am happy to be cooking for my family again! Before we moved, we purchased some Spanish cookbooks to learn about the cuisine before we arrived. From the little I have experienced so far, Spanish cooking is not very complicated or fancy. In fact, their main objective (especially in the South) is to use quality local ingredients in a simple way that showcases the natural flavors of the food. This means it is really easy to learn and cheap to experiment with.

So tonight I flipped through our cookbook and found Pollo con arroz, a la Espanol. The ingredients were very basic: chicken pieces, peppers, onion, garlic, olive oil, tomatoes, and bacon. I pan-seared the chicken while sauteing the veggies with the bacon, then added them all together and let them simmer for 15 minutes while making rice. Easy... and tasty! In the States, those ingredients wouldn't have been anything special. But here, we purchased some local olive oil with a very strong rich flavor. Just a few teaspoons add a nice flavor to a whole meal. The red peppers were purchased from "The Fruit Guy," a local man who brings a large truck filled with fresh produce onto base housing every day. He literally parks around the corner from our house, so we can walk down the street, pick out fruit and veggies, pay him a few dollars, and walk home with some of the best tasting produce I have ever had! :-) Pretty cool.

I have noticed the Spanish cookbooks call for ridiculous amounts of oil, and much fattier foods than I typically cook. But I cleaned this one up by using chicken breasts, turkey bacon, and brown rice. I did have to use the olive oil so that things would actually cook, not burn, but I used much less than I used to in the States because the flavor goes so much farther. There is probably a reason the Spanish are not known for their slender figures (especially when compared to the French or Italians!) but I think we can find ways to cook like them and still be healthy. I am going to enjoy learning more about the local cuisine!