Spiralized Golden Beet Arroz con Pollo

I frequently feel confident that certain recipes I’ve never made before will be tasty. For this one, I was not so sure. Would the beet flavor be too intense? Would peas make sense in this? It was delicious. The way it makes your house smell is worth cooking it alone. I had a friend coming over for dinner, and this is a perfect, forgiving dish that can sit on the stove on low until you’re ready (in fact the longer its the better it seems to get!). I did something I never do - I prepped most of the vegetables earlier in the day. Meaning I spiralized and riced the beets, chopped the onions and red peppers, defrosted the peas, and cooked the quinoa. When I got home I just had to saute everything together. The original recipe from Inspiralized didn’t call for quinoa but I added it because I wanted some grain. Welcome to flavor country. 

Ingredients

• For the chicken:

• 2-3 pounds bone-in chicken, combination of legs, breasts and thighs (I used thighs because that’s what I had)

• 2 teaspoon smoked paprika

• ½ teaspoon ancho chile powder

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

• salt and pepper

• 3 cups cooked quinoa

For the rice mixture:

• 4 golden large beets, peeled, spiralized

• 1 large yellow onion, diced

• 4 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced

• 2 large garlic cloves, minced

• 1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes, drained

• salt and pepper

• ½ cup defrosted peas

• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, insides sliced

• cilantro or parlsey to garnish

What To Do

1. Place the chicken in a plastic bag along with the paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and cumin. Shake the bag to coat the chicken.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once oil is shimmering, add in the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken until browned on all sides and no pink is showing, about 10 minutes per side. Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.

3. While chicken cooks, place the beet noodles into a food processor and pulse until rice-like. You may have to do this in batches. Set aside.

4. Add the onions, bell peppers, and garlic to the pan and cook for 5 minutes or until vegetables soften. Add in the drained tomatoes and stir.

5. Add in the golden beet rice and season with salt and pepper. Stir together to combine with the veggies and cover and let cook for about 5 minutes.

6. Nestle in the cooked chicken and pour over any juices left on the plate. Cover and let cook for 15 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink when sliced into its thickest part (or temperature reads 160* with a meat thermometer), adding the peas after about 10 minutes of cooking.

7. Divide the quinoa in bowls then top with the chicken and golden beet mixture. Add avocado and cilantro or parsley to garnish. Enjoy!