Cauliflower Arroz con Pollo (with duck!)

Cauliflower Arroz con Pollo (with duck!)

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I’ve got a great food collaboration coming up with a bunch of other bloggers called Cookout Week and I’m super excited! It’s hosted by PinterTest Kitchen and it’s going to be awesome! Because of that, I’ve been sent SO many products in order to create some fabulous new recipes for you all. But I’m getting a head start using some of these products because they were oh so generous and sent me a ton! First up, using duck from Maple Leaf Farms, is a recipe for Cauliflower Arroz con Pollo! 

 I’ve never cooked with duck before (and I think I’ve only eaten it once) so this was a new experience for me! After talking to a few people of their experiences with duck, I was a bit apprehensive. It was definitely a mixed bag on opinions. Some people seems to love it, especially in Chinese Peking Duck form. But for others, they thought it was tough and greasy. 

I decided to experiment with a recipe I’ve been tossing around in my head and make a cauliflower rice version of arroz con pollo. Or in my case, arroz con plato (yes, I did have to look up the Spanish word for duck! I don’t remember much of my high school Spanish!). I roasted my duck leg quarters in the oven on 375 degrees for about 45 minutes first before adding them to my dish. I wanted them nice and brown and was afraid that if I just cooked them with the cauliflower rice, they would be more steamed and too greasy. They came out amazingly! Yes, duck is greasier than chicken, I found out, but I just drained the fat off and set them aside while I made the rest of the dish. 

Know what else I found out while making this dish? Making your own cauliflower rice is messy. I just took my head of cauliflower to a large grater and started grating! And it went everywhere! All over my counters and cutting board! But then that’s ok. It’s worth the mess as freshly grated cauliflower rice is so much better than the frozen kind! Frozen is just too wet and by the time you cook off the water it produces, it’s way too mushy. Make the mess, it’s worth it. 

I was going to add some green olives to this dish for the briney flavor I was looking for, but I realized too late that my jarred olives had gone bad. ☹️ Sad day. So I used capers instead, and I’ll just say, it came out great! I liked the little pop that the capers gave to the dish. Paired with some bright, fresh cilantro, it came out so great! I’m super relieved that my first experience cooking duck came out so well. Cauliflower Arroz con Pollo ended up being the perfect way to introduce duck into my life! Look for more amazing dishes during Cookout Week, June 25-30th! I’ve seen the list of what my fellow bloggers are considering cooking for ya’ll and it all sounds completely delicious! I’m  planning on experimenting with a grain-free grilled pizza along with several other dishes! It’s going to be one delicious recipe after another, all week long! 

Cauliflower Arroz Con Pollo (or Plato!)
A delicious, low carb and Whole30 version of a classic Spanish dish.
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Ingredients
  1. 1 lb chicken or duck leg quarters
  2. 2 T olive oil
  3. 1 small head cauliflower, grated into rice-sized kernels
  4. 1 onion, minced
  5. 1/2 red bell pepper, diced finely
  6. 2 T minced fresh garlic
  7. 2 T chopped scallions
  8. 1 tsp chili powder
  9. 2 tsp adobe seasoning
  10. 1 tsp salt
  11. 1/4 cup chicken bone broth
  12. 1 T tomato paste
  13. 1 T capers with juice
  14. 2 T cilantro
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place duck legs in a shallow baking dish. Spray with olive oil cooking spray and sprinkle with chili powder and salt. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes until poultry is cooked through. Set aside.
  2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.
  3. Add onions, bell peppers, and garlic to pan and cook 10 minutes, or until veggies are tender.
  4. Add spices to pan and stir to combine.
  5. Add cauliflower rice, tomato paste, capers, and bone broth to pan. Top with cooked leg quarters and allow to simmer 10-15 minutes until rice is tender.
  6. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve immediately.
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