Pollo guisado sin gluten estilo puertoriqueno

Pollo guisado sin gluten is really just a gluten-free stewed chicken.  This is a Puerto Rican mainstay that is often served as a side dish and not a main course.  The wonderful thing about this recipe is that it is naturally gluten-free.  When teaching my gluten-free cooking classes this is a concept that I try to instill in my students, that cooking from scratch is very often glute-free.  It is not rocket scence and the dishes can have basic ingredients, be simple to make, taste great and still be gluten-free.  Most folks have the misconception that gluten-free food has to be lack luster and that is just not true.  You should never have to suffer color, texture, variety or flavor just becasue your food is gluten-free.  The only real qualifications for a dish to be gluten-free is that it does not contain wheat, rye barley and sometimes oats.  So think outside of the box and be creative.   

This is a recipe that my mother would fix throughout my life.  Just the aroma of this dish made me feel so warm and fuzzy all over.  I remember smelling this dish and thinking all is well with the world right now.  My mother loved to cook and it was such a labor of love that she would prepare for her husband, children, and grandchildren.  I love chicken and this is one of my favorite ways to fix it in the winter.  It is a very hardy, delicous and nuritious meal.  Be sure to serve it nice and warm over rice. 

I have seen this recipe with white wine instead of the chicken broth or 1/2 and 1/2, or just water instead of the broth.  Any way you prepare it, it is bound to please.  It's not quite a Coq au vin, but it is just as delicious, just from a different culture.

3 lbs. chicken pieces, seasoned with adobo

3 tsps. adobo (minced garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, olive oil)

1 cup sofrito (see recipe below)
1 cup tomato sauce

2 cups chicken broth, or water

4 potatoes, diced

4 carrots, chopped

4 celery ribs, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Sofrito

1/4  bunch cilantro, chopped

1 head of garlic, minced

1 large onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper

*4 - 6 ajíes dulces (Optional.  If in Puerto Rico easier to find)
1 tbsp. capers

1/4 cup green olives stuffed with pimento
1 teaspoon.oregano, crushed

1 teaspoon salt

1/2  teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

If you would like to prepare a bunch of sofrito and reserve it for dishes down the road, one way is to - peel, wash, seed, chop, and mince what you need and just dump it all in the in a bowl and mix well. Freeze in ice-cube trays, then dump in a double freezer bag.  I have seen this recipe where they just put all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor, but my family likes the whole olives and capers.

Season the chicken ahead of time (at least 1 hour) and refrigerate until needed.

In a medium sized sauce pan heat olive oil, add chicken and cook until it is brown on both sides. Remove from oil and drain. In the same pan add the sofrito and cook for 3 minutes or so. Add the chicken and the rest of the ingredients, season to taste, cover and cook over medium heat for 35 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are fork tender.  Add the celery about 5 minutes before serving.  Serve over rice.