A soupy, soul-warming rice from the Valle del Cauca, cooked loose and creamy with pork, chicken, chorizo, yellow potatoes and a fragrant base of onion, tomato and cilantro. Unlike dry rice, it stays moist and 'stuck together,' eaten with a spoon like a thick risotto.
Arroz atollado is the pride of the Valle del Cauca and the city of Cali, where Pacific and Andean ingredients meet. Its name comes from 'atollado,' meaning stuck or bogged-down, describing how the rice clings to the meats and broth. Traditionally cooked over a wood fire for family Sunday lunches, it is comfort food at its most generous.
Spoon-soft rice slick with savory broth, studded with tender pork, smoky chorizo and creamy yellow potato. It is hearty and homey, layered with cumin and cilantro, each bite warm, loose and deeply comforting.
Cooking the rice in excess stock with frequent stirring releases surface starch into the liquid, thickening it into a creamy, risotto-like body rather than letting the grains steam dry and separate.
Variations
Arroz atollado with pork ribs, seafood versions on the coast, valluno style with extra papa criolla, adding longaniza
On the Palate
Where Arroz Atollado sits in the Colombian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
8 steps · 30 min
- 110 min
Cut pork and chicken into chunks and brown them in a large pot.
- 26 min
Add sliced chorizo and cook until the fat renders out.
- 38 min
Stir in a sofrito of onion, garlic, tomato, scallion and cumin.
- 44 min
Pour in plenty of stock and bring to a steady simmer.
- 55 min
Add the rice and diced yellow potatoes, stirring frequently.
Watch outKeep stirring as the rice cooks — scraping up the surface starch is what turns the broth creamy instead of watery.
- 618 min
Cook uncovered, adding stock as needed, until the rice is loose and creamy.
Watch outCook uncovered and top up stock so it stays loose and soupy — it thickens fast and turns to sticky porridge if you let it dry.
- 74 min
Fold in green peas and chopped cilantro near the end.
- 85 min
Season, rest briefly off the heat, and serve in bowls while soupy.
Watch outServe while it's still loose and pourable — resting too long tightens it into a solid clump.
