La Bandera

Ingredients

• •2 lbs of shrimp, crab or lobster
• •1 lemon (may be omitted)
• •2 1/2 cups of rice
• •3/4 gallon of water
• •5 tablespoons oil
• •4 tablespoons tomato paste
• •1/4 cup chopped green peppers
• •1 pinch oregano
• •1 teaspoon mashed garlic
• •1 pinch black pepper
• •1/8 cup chopped seedless olives
• •1/4 cup chopped celery
• •1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley
• •1 teaspoon finely chopped coriander
• •1/2 teaspoon of thyme leaves
• •1 cube of chicken stock
• •Salt

Directions

1. 1Hablichuelas (beans)
2. 2Soak beans overnight, or use beans from a can if you're in a hurry. Throw the beans, along with the water from the can or the water they were soaked in, into a pot and add a little more water. Put it on the stove on medium heat. Add a little salt, and when the beans are almost done, add a sopita, which is basically a bouillon cube. Cut up a piece of auyama, or any kind of squash if you aren't in the Dominican Republic, and add that, too. Put in a bit of oregano and celery leaves for flavor. Wait for the habichuelas to thicken up a little bit. Add salt to taste.
3. 3That may take 30 minutes or so. In the meantime...
4. 4Chicken
5. 5Take clean, prepared pieces of chicken, and put them in a bowl. Add sliced onion, mashed garlic, vinegar, sazon completa (poultry seasoning), celery, oregano, and salt to taste.
6. 6In a heavy pot, put a spoonful of sugar into a little bit of oil and put it on the stove on medium-low heat. When the sugar starts to burn, throw in all of the chicken and ingredients, all at once. Make sure all of the chicken pieces are situated well, and put the lid on.
7. 7After about 10 to 15 minutes, add some water--not enough to cover, just a little bit. Turn the pieces over, and put the lid back on.
8. 8In another 10 to 15 minutes, check the chicken. If it is close to being done, add a little bit of tomato paste (here they just call it salsa ), making sure the paste gets into the liquid in the pot. Turn the chicken again if needed.
9. 9And this brings us to...
10. 10Rice
11. 11In the Dominican Republic, people cook it in a cadena and scrape the bottom for the kon-kon (the burnt parts, which are a special treat), but you can cook it however you like.
12. 12The habichuelas are spooned over the rice, and the chicken is served on top.
13. 13This meal is also often served with cabbage, lettuce, green tomatoes, and cucumber, with vinegar sprinkled on top.
14. 14That's it! La Bandera. Enjoy!