Chilean Cazuela

Method

1. Prep everything first. Peel the potatoes and leave them whole; peel the squash and cut one chunk (about 5 cm) per serving. Cut the corn into 5 cm rounds, slice the onion and bell pepper into thin strips, cut the carrot into thin half-moons and chop the garlic. Trim the beans and halve them, and rinse the rice once.

2. Heat the oil in a 3 L pot on medium heat. Season the chicken with a little salt and brown it skin side down for 7 min, until the skin is golden, then turn it to colour the other side lightly. It does not need to be cooked through yet.

   Add in this stepNeutral oil 1 tbspBone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks (about 200 g each) 2Salt 0.4 tsp

   medium heat

3. Lower the heat to medium-low heat, add the onion, carrot, garlic, bell pepper, cumin, oregano and paprika and cook for 4 min, stirring, until the onion is translucent and the spices smell fragrant. Keep stirring: burnt paprika turns bitter.

   Add in this stepOnion 1Carrot 1Garlic cloves 2Red bell pepper ½Ground cumin ½ tspDried oregano ½ tspSweet paprika 1 tsp

   medium-low heat

4. Pour in the water with some of the salt and bring to the boil on high heat, which takes about 9 min. Skim off the foam that rises, then lower to medium-low heat, half-cover and simmer for 20 min.

   Add in this stepWater 1,100 mlSalt ½ tsp

   high heat→medium-low heat

5. Add the potatoes, squash and corn and simmer briskly on medium heat for 12 min, until the outside of the potatoes starts to soften. Set the squash near the top, as it breaks up easily.

   Add in this stepMedium potatoes 2Pumpkin or butternut squash 200 gCorn on the cob, cut into pieces 1

   medium heat

6. Add the rice, green beans and the rest of the salt and cook on medium-low heat for 15 min more. It is ready when the rice is soft, a skewer slides easily into the potatoes and the chicken shows no pink near the bone (75 °C inside). Taste and add more salt if needed.

   Add in this stepLong-grain rice 30 gGreen beans 80 gSalt ½ tsp

   medium-low heat

7. Put one piece each of chicken, potato, squash and corn into deep bowls, ladle over plenty of broth, rice and vegetables, and scatter with cilantro. Chileans often mash the potato into the broth with a spoon as they eat.

   Add in this stepChopped cilantro 5 g