Rice with smoked pork chops (locrio de chuleta ahumada)
What is "locrio"? In Dominican cuisine, "locrio" is any combination of rice and meat/seafood, cooked in the same dish, with added seasonings. Locrio may be an adaptation of the Valencian paella. Spaniards who arrived in Hispaniola in the sixteenth century began substituting the basic herbs and meats in paella for ones more common in the island. Hence, locrio is not colored with saffron as Spanish paella is; instead bija (ground annatto seeds) or tomato paste are used. Although most Dominicans cook a drier version of locrio, I have chosen to use tomatoes for this recipe, which results in a wetter…