Pollo Con Crema

I’m excited about this one. This is something I ate a lot growing up. It was so yummy every time. Over time I forgot about this dish as I started eating new kinds of food, but one day I found myself craving this and asked my mom how to make it. I’ve taken the recipe she gave me and made it my own. I am pleased to give you my rendition of Pollo Con Crema. 

I will start off by saying I cook the chicken in the air fryer. This appliance makes life easier. I have one so might as well use it. Obviously, not my mom’s recipe. I like to put my chicken in a brine and leave it for at least 24 hours. Brining is the process of submerging meat in a salt water solution. From this, you can add any kind of seasonings you like. Many like to put sugar in the solution, but I’d rather not. My brine consists of salt, peppercorns, bay leaves, and fresh thyme. I found this gives the chicken a very pleasant taste and texture. 

Mise en place is huge for this dish. You want to make sure you have all your ingredients ready to go since the chicken and sauce are being cooked separately. Chop all veggies first because doing it as you go can get complicated when you are making this for the first time. The chicken takes about 35 min to cook, so that’s how much time you have to get the sauce and veggies right. 

The veggies must be cooked all the way through before adding your liquids or else the sauce might be looser than you want. This does take some time, so right after you start sauteing the veggies, start working the chicken into the air fryer. Make sure you completely drain the chicken and pat dry. Add a coat of oil and season with salt and pepper before you start to cook the chicken. Once the chicken is in the air fryer, you go back to your veggies on the stove and focus on that until you have to flip the chicken over about 15 minutes into to cooking process. Also, it helps to have an easy visible clock in the kitchen. Most stoves have a digital clock. Just have that set. 

Do this dish right, and you’ll have everyone at the dinner table going “mmm” while rolling their eyes back. Some might even be doing the happy dance (I know I do)! It goes very well with some homemade beans and rice, but you can serve with whatever sides you desire. Add some warm tortillas and you got a party! 

Pollo Con Crema

Recipe by randy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

35

minutes

Calories

300

kcal

Ingredients

• 1 bell pepper

• 2 poblano peppers

• 2 roma tomatoes

• 6 cloves garlic

• 2 yellow onions

• 4 whole chicken breast brined

• 1 Tbsp oil

• Salt

• Black pepper

• 2 cups veggie stock

• 1.5 lbs sour cream

• 2 bay leaves

• ¼ tsp ground cumin

• ½ tsp paprika

• 1 ½ tsp knorr chicken flavor bouillon

• 1 oz fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

• Wash all produce under cold running water. Julianne poblano peppers, bell pepper, and onions. Dice tomatoes. Chop garlic and cilantro. Remove chicken from the brine and pat dry.
• Preheat Air fryer to 375 degrees. Preheat large saute pan over medium- high heat on the stove for 1 minute.
• Pour in ½ Tbsp of oil of choice. Add onions and peppers. Season with salt and black pepper. Let cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Place chicken in the air fryer in a single layer, coat in oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking time.
• Add tomatoes and garlic to sauté pan. Cook for 5 minutes or until onions and peppers are cooked and tomatoes almost completely cooked off.
• Add veggie stock, sour cream, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Add bouillon and make sure to mix it well into everything. Bring the heat down to a simmer and leave it for at least 15 minutes or until the sauce has a thick consistency.
• Once chicken is finished cooking or has an internal temperature of at least 165, remove from the air fryer and let rest for at least 5 minutes.
• Slice chicken and combine with the sauce. Enjoy!