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TRADITIONAL PORTUGUESE RECIPES

Portuguese chicken cabidela rice

Traditional Portuguese chicken rice with a dark, gently tangy sauce.

⏱ Estimated time: 85 minutes🍽 Servings: 6🇵🇹 Portugal
Portuguese chicken cabidela rice — Digitally created illustrative image
Digitally created illustrative image

Ingredients

  • 1 cut-up free-range chicken (1.3 kg)
  • 450 g carolino rice
  • 1 large onion
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 150 ml red wine
  • 60 ml olive oil
  • 2 tbsp vinegar
  • Salt and pepper

Step-by-step method

  1. Soften onion, garlic and bay in oil and lightly brown chicken pieces.
  2. Add red wine and enough hot water to cover; simmer until chicken is thoroughly cooked and tender.
  3. Reserve enough broth for the rice, roughly three times its volume, leaving chicken in the pot.
  4. Add rice and cook, stirring, until tender and pleasantly soupy.
  5. Stir in vinegar at the end and adjust acidity before serving.
✦ Cooking tip

Blood-free adaptation; traditional cabidela usually contains safely sourced poultry blood.

A home-style version; regional and family variations are common. Check cooking times and food doneness before serving.