Galhinada is a one-pot recipe that will make cleanup a breeze

Alexandra Olsen

Jun. 18, 2021 9:00 am

Need a quick, easy meal? Try galhinada, a one-pot, chicken and rice meal. (Alexandra Olsen)

A while ago I noticed a trend in the recipe videos being shared all over social media. You know, the ones with the top-down camera angles and the sped up hand motions that make the dishes seem so easy and neat to accomplish. They were all “one-pot” this, and “one-pan” that.

Chicken and rice seemed to be two popular ingredients that kept reappearing in these videos, and each time I came across one I thought, “that’s just fancy galinhada.”

“Galhinada” is a chicken and rice dish that I grew up eating in Brazil and my grandmothers had been making their galinhadas in one pot before the term “one-pot” became a part of recipe sharing vocabulary.

There isn’t really a direct translation for the name of this recipe, although it is derived from the Portuguese word for chicken, “galinha.” Google suggested “chicken soup” as a translation but in reality, galinhada is not a soup. It is a full meal in one simple dish.

Like its cousin “carreteiro,” each Brazilian grandmother has her own recipe for galinhada. They vary in flavor and ingredients. Only three things remain the same -- the chicken, the rice and the comfort of knowing that you’ll have minimal dishes to do after you’re done devouring a delicious meal.

This is my own recipe, taking inspiration from all the wonderful galinhadas I’ve eaten in my life, made lovingly by Brazilian women who just needed to feed their families at the end of a long day.

This one-pot recipe for galhinada leaves minimal cleanup. (Alexandra Olsen)

Recipe

Galinhada

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 pounds chicken drumsticks

Adobo seasoning, to taste

1 white onion, diced

1 large green bell pepper, diced

2 large tomatoes, diced

1 chicken bouillon cube

2 cups white rice

3 cups water

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup canned corn kernels

Juice of one lemon, plus one more lemon for garnish

Fresh parsley, minced, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a deep stock pot on the stove, heat olive oil. Season your chicken drumsticks with adobo seasoning and sear until lightly browned on all sides. Remove from heat and set aside. It’s OK if the chicken is not fully cooked as it will return to the pot later.

In the same pot, saute onions and green peppers until translucent and tender. Add in tomatoes and your bouillon cube. Stir until the cube is dissolved.

Add in rice and stir, then add water, peas and corn. Allow water to boil.

Once boiling, return chicken to the pot, allowing it to sit on top of the rice.

Cover with a lid or tin foil and place in the oven for 30 minutes, or until water is mostly absorbed and rice is tender and fully cooked. Add lemon juice over the top before serving. Garnish with parsley and more lemon rounds or wedges.

Source: Adapted by Alexandra Olsen