Chicken and rice is a wonderful chicken dinner it is very easy to make and full f wonderful flavor. This is an ultimate comfort food that is so fragrant and with all the vegetables and onions, it is a great dish that you could adapt with a whole host of different vegetables in there. Chicken and rice is a serious bit of comfort food and a perfect family dinner. We start off by frying off some chicken, you can use some boneless and skinless ones but you can also do it with the bone in and the skin on depending with how you like your chicken. Start off in the an with a tablespoon of oil, you want a nice pin here because we are looking for really good color on the chicken.

Straight in the pan, we want a really good bit of sizzle on the chicken, while in the pan, season them with some black pepper and oregano. Once the chicken has a nice bit of color, we are going to transfer it our and you need to make sure that you use all that lovely fat that’s rendered out of the chicken. Add some chopped onions in the pan and give it a good stir through and get them nicely coated, to our onions, add in some nice red peppers which are going to add a great flavor and great color as well. Let that soften for a few minutes then add a pinch of spice with some dried chili flakes, also add some garlic and the fry that off just until it is nicely softened down alongside the onions and peppers.

Add a good generous amount of white wine and begin to simmer that down and let the alcohol in the wine to burn off a little it, the sweetness is what we are looking for in this chicken and rice. The next thing that we are adding is tinned plum tomatoes, you can do this with chopped tomatoes and as soon as you place your tomatoes in there, press them with the back of your spoon to get a nice smooth finish. Since we are creating a base for the rice, we are going to add some chicken stock. For the rice, you are looking for that which will plump up and take on all that great flavor and if you can’t find short rice, whatever rice you have will still do the job.

So, straight in there add the rice and stir that through to make sure the rice from the bottom incorporates it through the mix. The chicken then goes back into the simmering pot, once you have all the chicken in, turn down the heat right down to its lowest setting and let it simmer with the lid on for 25 minutes. Serve the chicken and rice while still warm.

Ingredients;

  • 1-2 tbsp olive oil
  • 850g chicken thighs
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • 2 red peppers, sliced lengthways
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • ½ tsp dried chili flakes
  • 75ml white wine
  • plum tomatoes
  • 400ml chicken stock
  • 250g short grain rice
  • 100g green olives, roughly crushed and stone removed
  • Sea salt and ground black pepper

Instructions;

  1. Place the chicken in a bowl and toss with a generous seasoning of sea salt, black pepper, and oregano. Set aside.
  2. Heat a casserole over medium-high heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil. Cook the chicken thighs until they are an even golden color all over and are almost cooked through.
  3. Drain on a plate lined with kitchen paper. Add the remaining oil to the pan if required and fry the onions and peppers for 6-8 minutes until just tender.
  4. Stir through the garlic and chili flakes and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes until aromatic. Pour in the wine and simmer for 1-2 minutes before adding the tomatoes, chicken stock, rice, and olives.
  5. Bring to a steady simmer and then nestle the chicken thighs in the tomato rice mixture.
  6. Reduce the heat, cover with a lid and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes or until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked all the way through and tender.
  7. Depending on the rice you may need to top up with a little water if it gets too dry before the rice is cooked.
  8. Also, ensure the rice doesn’t catch at the bottom of the pan by stirring it every now and then.
  9. Season with sea salt and ground black pepper and serve while still warm.