Healthy Chicken Asopao

Sharing is caring!

I love a good hearty soup especial on a day like today when it is cold and snowy outside. Asopao is one of my favorite choices for a “stoup”…this is what I call it. It is too thick to be called a soup and has too much broth to be a stew. Rather than throw a whole chicken in a pot with all of the ingredients and wait all day for it to cook, this is my quick and easy method that still yields a delicious meal in a fraction of the time. It also doesn’t have all of the extra fat that comes from cooking it with the chicken skin.

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons sofrito (either use store bought or my version listed below)
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 package chicken tenders sliced into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 3/4 cup long grain brown rice
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 8 large Spanish olives – sliced (I use a melon baller to remove the olives and capers)
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

My Version of Sofrito

I am going against the grain with this is version of Sofrito. It usually has more ingredients but this is my quick and easy version which taste delicious in my Asopao.

Ingredients

• Red bell pepper seeded and cored
• 1/2 large onion
• 2 cloves garlic

Chop up the pepper and onion into manageable sized pieces and blend in a food processor until pureed. Store unused amount in the refrigerator or freeze portions for later use.

My Asopao Recipe

Step 1: Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 3 tablespoons sofrito in a large glass bowl. Add sliced chicken and mix to coat. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Step 2: Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 3 tablespoons of sofrito in a large pot and cook for about a minute over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until all of the pieces are seasoned and opaque.

Step 3: Add tomato sauce and rice stir well.

Step 4: Add capers, olives, bay leaf, oregano and salt.

Step 5: Add chicken broth and stir to combine. Bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer covered for about 45 to 50 minutes until the brown rice is soft.