Spicy Cuban Chicken Recipes

Steps:

• For the empanada dough: Mix all empanada ingredients in a mixer. Let dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
• For the filling: Bake the chicken breast until fully cooked. Put breast meat in a food processor and pulse until chopped (you don't want very small pieces). Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil. Add onions, green and red bell peppers, salt, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, red pepper, oregano and basil. Cook until onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Pour in chipotle sauce and stir. Finally add tomato sauce. Allow filling to cool.
• To form the empanadas, knead the dough. Roll the dough out by hand or with a commercial sheeter. Cut out circles of dough. Place a dough circle in an empanada mold if you have one, but it's not necessary; fill with chicken mixture. Wet the edges of the dough with your fingers. Close the mold to seal, or fold dough over filling and use the tines of a fork to seal the edges. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Use a pastry brush to paint empanadas with an even coat of egg wash.
• Preheat a convection oven to 450 degrees F, or regular oven to 400 degrees F. Place empanadas on greased baking sheets. Bake for 3 minutes in convection oven or 10 to 15 minutes in regular oven.

Steps:

• Combine dressing, garlic and red pepper in a 2 cup glass measure or medium glass bowl. Place chicken in large glass bowl, pour dressing over chicken, cover and marinate at least 30 minutes, but overnight is fine.
• Remove chicken from marinade, drain well, discard marinade. Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat until hot. Add chicken, cook 5-7 minutes, stirring until chicken is slightly brown, spooning off any excess liquid.
• Add bell peppers, onion, oregano, pepper, and cumin. Cook, stirring, 4-5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
• Add rice, black beans and tomatoes. Cook 2-3 minutes more or until thoroughly heated.
• Garnish with cilantro, serve immediately.

Steps:

• Whisk first 11 ingredients in medium bowl for marinade. Place chicken in large resealable plastic bag; add marinade. Seal bag; turn several times to coat chicken. Refrigerate chicken at least 4 hours and up to 1 day, turning bag occasionally. Using tongs, transfer chicken from bag to plate, allowing excess marinade to drip back into bag. Reserve marinade.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large wide pot over medium heat. Add chorizo and sauté until beginning to brown and fat begins to render, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer chorizo to medium bowl. Increase heat to medium-high. Add half of chicken, skin side down, to pot. Sauté until brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to plate. Repeat with remaining chicken.
• Pour off all but 3 tablespoons fat from pot; discard excess fat. Add chopped onions; sauté 4 minutes, scraping up any browned bits. Add chopped bell pepper and chopped garlic. Sauté until onions are translucent, about 2 minutes. Mix in rice, stirring to blend with vegetables. Add 2 1/2 cups broth, tomatoes with any juice, paprika, saffron, and reserved marinade. Bring to boil, stirring to blend. Return chicken, chorizo, and any accumulated juices to pot, pressing chicken partially into rice.
• Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes. Arrange piquillo pepper strips over chicken pieces. Cover and continue to simmer until rice is tender and chicken is cooked through, adding more broth by 1/4 cupfuls if rice is dry, about 10 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Transfer rice and chicken to large shallow bowl. Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges and serve.