This Puerto Rican one-dish chicken and rice stew is rich in flavor.

Makes 8 servings, about 1 1/2 cups each

ACTIVE TIME: 30 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 20 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
4 Anaheim or poblano chile peppers, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon dried oregano, crushed
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 tomato, chopped
1 4-ounce jar pimientos, rinsed
8 pimiento-stuffed green olives, sliced
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
8 cups water
2 1/2 cups brown rice
2/3 cup packed chopped fresh cilantro

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken, chiles, onion, oregano, paprika and salt and cook, stirring, until the onions have softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Add tomato sauce, tomato, pimientos, olives, capers and water and bring to a boil. Stir in rice; return to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the sauce is thick, the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through, 35 to 45 minutes. Stir in cilantro and serve.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 451 calories; 14 g fat (3 g sat, 6 g mono); 85 mg cholesterol; 51 g carbohydrate; 30 g protein; 5 g fiber; 635 mg sodium; 518 mg potassium.
Nutrition bonus: Vitamin C (120% daily value), Vitamin A (25% dv), Magnesium (30% dv), Iron (20% dv).
3 Carbohydrate Servings
Exchanges: 3 starch, 1 vegetable, 3 lean meat

TIP: Note: Anaheim chiles (a.k.a. New Mexico chiles) are 7 to 10 inches long, ripen from green to red and are mildly spicy. Poblano peppers (sometimes called pasilla peppers) are dark green in color, about 6 inches long and can be fiery or relatively mild; there’s no way to tell until you taste them. The two can be used interchangeably and are found at most large supermarkets.

Unless this is eaten IMMEDIATELY all the liquid is absorbed by the rice. This resulted in a kind of mushy dish. The overall taste was quite bland (we expected something zingier for a Puerto Rican dish, even though we used Anaheim chiles) and the individual flavors did not stand out as they do in most Eating Well recipes. We found both the flavors and texture disappointing.

Anonymous, Walnut Creek, CA

This recipe left us wondering if there's some error... the entire dish is bland and mushy. This is the first truly disappointing recipe we've had from Eating Well. We ended up throwing most of it away. We used poblano peppers. In hindsight, the ingredients to serving size ration doesn't make sense--it calls for only 8 olives total for 8 servings? If we try this again, we'll add the tomato, capers, olives much later in the cooking, as they lose all flavor otherwise. We'll also substitute chicken broth for the water.

Anonymous, South Burlington, VT

I tried this last night, and kept the other comments in mind. I added two big cloves of garlic, used 1/2 a can of diced tomatoes instead of the sauce and whole tomato, and used chicken broth instead of water. I also used roasted anaheim and pimiento chilies which added another layer of flavor. I had to cook it longer than the directions say - about an hour or so - but it was worth it! Very tasty dish.

Andrea, Wheat Ridge, CO

I tried this last night, and kept the other comments in mind. I added two big cloves of garlic, used 1/2 a can of diced tomatoes instead of the sauce and whole tomato, and used chicken broth instead of water. I also used roasted anaheim and pimiento chilies which added another layer of flavor. I had to cook it longer than the directions say - about an hour or so - but it was worth it! Very tasty dish.

Andrea, Wheat Ridge, CO