Puertorrican cooking has a unique blend of Spanish, African and Taino influence. Arroz con salchicha is considered a staple dish for many Puertorrican families, comfort food for others and a real treat for expatriates. This one pot meal is simple to prepare and can definitely feed and fill a crowd. Arroz con salchicha reminds me of Spanish paella, where the meats and vegetables are all cooked together with the rice.
The original recipe calls for Vienna sausages; I’ve changed this recipe a bit by replacing the canned sausages with fresh Kielbasa sausages and have added my own seasoning plus extra vegetables for flavor. If you decide to use another sausage, choose one with a mild flavor so that it won’t overpower the taste of the rice.
When my husband lived in Puerto Rico he remembers eating this dish with sorullitos de maiz, or tostones. When we have it at home, since I am not Puertorrican :), I serve it with slices of avocado or tomato seasoned with salt, olive oil and vinegar.
- ¾ cups of chopped onions
- ½ cup of chopped red pepper
- 2 medium garlic clove minced
- ½ cup of cooked cubed bacon
- 2 cups of cooked and sliced Kielbasa (approximately 3 medium sized links)
- 3 tablespoons of home-made sofrito or store bought Goya has a good one
- ⅓ cup of tomato sauce
- 3½ cups of water
- 2 cups of rice
- ¾ teaspoon of salt
- Chop the red pepper, onion and garlic.
- Cube the bacon.
- Set the heat of the stove to medium-high.
- Add olive oil to a medium size pot, when hot add the Kielbasa sausages and turn them with tongs until they are brown on all sides.
- Reduce the heat, add two tablespoons of water to the pot and cover it.
- Cook the sausages until all the water has evaporated.
- Transfer sausages to a plate and let them cool.
- Set the heat of the stove to medium-high.
- Add the bacon to the pot and cook.
- While bacon is cooking slice the sausages and cut in quarters.
- Once bacon is cooked set aside.
- Add the vegetables to the bacon fat (if there is not enough bacon fat, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil) and cook until soft or onions are golden; approximately 5 to 10 minutes.
- Add the rice to the pot and mix with the vegetables. Let the rice brown for couple of minutes.
- Add the cooked sausage and bacon to the rice.
- Add the salt, tomato sauce and the water to the rice.
- Taste and add more salt if necessary.
- Reduce the heat to medium and let the rice cook until most of the water has evaporated. It is important that you don’t let all the water evaporate.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and let it cook for 20 – 25 minutes.
- Check if the rice is cooked (with a spoon sample a bit of rice from the side; it should be soft not crunchy). If it is not cooked continue cooking in 5 minute increments.
- When the rice is cooked mix it with the sausage and bacon using a fork (is better to use a fork to loosen the rice, otherwise it will be lumpy).
- Buen Provecho!
Did you make this recipe?
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