Guatemalan Chicken with Pineapple (Pollo en Pina)

winkki's Note:

One of our favorite ways to spice up chicken for almost 15 yrs now, and it smells sooo good while it cooks! I wouldn't normally put tomatoes and pineapple together, but it sure works in this recipe from "Betty Crocker's New Int'l Cookbook." It's not as much work as it might appear; most of the cook time is just stove-top simmering.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 2 tablespoons olive oil or 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 -3 ½ lbs broiler-fryer chickens , in pieces
• 1 medium onion , chopped
• 2 cloves garlic , minced
• 1 pineapple, cut in 1 inch cubes or 1 (20 ounce) can unsweetened pineapple chunks , drained
• ½ cup dry sherry
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 dash pepper
• 2 medium tomatoes , coarsely chopped
• hot cooked rice (can cook concurrently so all is ready at the same time)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in lg skillet; cook chicken on med heat until brown on all sides-- approx 15 min.
2. Remove chicken, cook onion& garlic in remaining oil until onion is tender, stirring frequently.
3. Return chicken to skillet.
4. Mix all remaining ingredients except tomatoes (and rice!); pour over chicken.
5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer 20 min.
6. Add tomatoes; simmer, uncovered, until thickest pieces of chicken are cooked through-- approx 20 min.
7. Serve with rice.

Reviews

[Chef #256124]

Very different kind of recipe which my family and I really enjoyed. I do a lot of international cooking and came across this recipe while on a culinary trek across Central America (in my kitchen). It is very easy to make. It takes little effort on the cook's part since most of the time is consumed by simmering....as Winkki said. Thanks for posting it, Winkki.

[Jenny Sanders]

I simplified this a bit, by using skinless, boneless chicken thighs, which reduced the cooking time. I also cut the recipe in half, except for the onion and garlic, and probably the tomatoes - I just put in some tinned ones, since it isn't exactly tomato season around here. I did use a fresh, very ripe pineapple, since they were on sale. (BECAUSE they were very ripe, ha! ha!) The result was tangy and delicious. I'll be making this again. Thanks, Winkki!