Red Chile Chicken and Rice with Black Beans

By bakers_delight85

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. vegetable or olive oil
• 4 (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds total) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• Salt
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. ground ancho chile powder (available from national companies such as McCormick, Mexican groceries and internet sites), divided use
• 1 medium white onion, cut into 1/4-inch thick pieces
• 1 cup rice
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped or crushed through a garlic press
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• One 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed (rinsing will keep them from making the rice sticky)
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions (roots and wilted outer leaves removed before chopping) OR 1/3 cup (loosely packed) chopped cilantro
• 1/2 to 1 cup salsa or chipotle hot sauce for serving

Preparation

Step 1

Heat the oil in a medium large (4- to 6-quart) heavy pot over medium-high. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken breasts first with salt, then with 1 Tbsp. of the ground ancho chile. Lay them in the hot oil in a single layer. When browned on one side, 2 to 3 minutes, flip them over and brown the other side, another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to a plate to cool, leaving behind as much oil as possible. Add the onion and rice to the pot. Stir for several minutes, until the rice turns from translucent to opaque. Add the garlic and the remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp. ground ancho chile and cook 1 minute, then add the broth and 1 tsp. salt (a little less if using salty broth). Stir well. When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the pot. Cook for 10 minutes. Cut the chicken breasts into 1 inch cubes. Uncover the pot and add the chicken and beans. Re-cover and cook 12 minutes longer. Uncover, sprinkle on the green onions (or herbs) and test a kernel of rice: it should have no more than a hint of chalkiness in the center; if it does, cook for another 5 minutes or so. Otherwise, simply re-cover the pot and let stand off the heat for 5 to 10 minutes to finish cooking the rice in its own trapped steam. Fluff the rice mixture and serve with the salt for each person to spoon on .