Cuban-Style Pork and Rice

We had some boneless pork chops in the freezer but pork is so boring sometimes. I knew I wanted to add a lot of flavor and this dish did the trick! I pretty much followed the recipe, but there were a few slight changes I made. I left out the rum, used chicken stock rather than broth, didn't use shrimp, used a can of artichokes and left out the roasted red peppers. I also changed up the cooking time a little since I didn't use the shrimp. Below is what I did.

1/4 cup paprika
1/4 cup lime juice
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 tsp. minced garlic plus 2 tbsp. chopped garlic, divided
2 tsp. fresh oregano, chopped
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 pounds boneless pork chops (3/4-1 inch thick), trimmed, cut into cubes
2 cups onion, chopped
2 cups arborio rice or short-grain brown rice
28 ounces chicken stock
1 cup canned diced tomatoes diced
2 tbsp. capers, rinsed
1/4 tsp. saffron threads
1 can artichoke hearts, quartered

Combine paprika, lime juice, 2 tablespoons oil, 2 teaspoons minced garlic, oregano, salt, pepper and cumin in a medium bowl, stirring to make a homogeneous paste. Add pork and stir to coat. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the pork, leaving any excess spice mixture in the bowl to add later. Cook the pork, stirring, until just cooked on the outside and the spices are very fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the pork to a plate.

Add onion and the remaining 2 tablespoons garlic to the pan and cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, until well coated with the onion mixture. Stir in broth, tomatoes, capers, saffron and any remaining spice mixture. (If using brown rice, also add 3/4 cup water now.) Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer; cook, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes for arborio, 30 minutes for brown rice.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Add the pork back in and stir artichokes into the rice. Cover and bake for 20 minutes or until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed