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Dominican Pollo Guisado (Braised Chicken)

By Family Fresh Cooking

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One of the things I love most about travel is all the exotic flavors I get to try. It’s so exciting to leave the States and to tempt my palate with new flavors and ingredients. It’s also super fun to be able to bring these explorations back to you guys! As a globetrotter, one of the most important things to me is learning about local cuisines and figuring out the restaurants I’m going to visit. While on our Carnival Cruise Eastern Caribbean adventure, one of the ports of call was Amber Cove of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. My honey and I decided to tour the area, tasting the many wonderful things it had to offer. One of our favorites was this Dominican Pollo Guisado (Braised Chicken) dish.

This recipe is filled with lively flavors and is jam-packed with all sorts of great-for-you ingredients. Offering up lots of native proteins like chicken and plenty of veggies like tomatoes and bell peppers, the Dominican Republic is known for its delicious food. It was such a fun place to visit; we learned quite a bit about the culture when touring around and saw many beautiful beaches. Our guide was most helpful showing us around town and leading us to a local favorite eatery. We also enjoyed a hearty yellow rice with seafood dish…
And a refreshing mango drink…

The terrain here is lush and green, situated right on the water. There are markets everywhere with the most beautiful, fresh ingredients. I wanted to cook so badly with these peppers!

How gorgeous are these cherries? We purchased a bunch and snacked on them throughout the day.

My kids love green olives, so this chicken dish was thankfully gobbled up! Dominican Pollo Guisado is perfect for weeknight family meals and also for entertaining guests. Enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
  • 2 limes cut into halves
  • 1 teaspoon dry oregano
  • 1 small red onion (1 cup) chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 1 teaspoon of salt (plus salt & pepper to taste)
  • 2 cloves mashed garlic
  • 2 tablespoons of canola or grapeseed oil
  • 1 teaspoon of granulated white sugar
  • 2 cups of water
  • 4 plum tomatoes cut into quarters
  • 2 green bell peppers, chopped into bite sized pieces
  • 1 cup of green olives with pimentos
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro + more for garnish
 Directions
  1. In a bowl or zip top bag, marinate the chicken, oregano, onion, celery, salt and garlic for 30 minutes.
  2. In a pot, heat the oil over medium heat, add sugar and cook until it browns.
  3. Add the marinated ingredients and garlic. Sauté until the chicken is light brown on all sides.
  4. Add the olives, water and tomato sauce. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring well.
  5. Add fresh cilantro. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Serve with rice, salad or beans.

Recipe adapted from https://www.dominicancooking.com/620-pollo-guisado-braised-chicken.html

This post was created for Away We Go with Carnival, the destination for getting in the getaway state of mind.

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