Chicken and Chorizo Rice

Uploaded: 3 April, 2023

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Introduction

Recipe from River Cottage, Good Comfort

by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall,

Ingredients - Serves: 6

1 large or 2 medium onions, sliced

3 peppers, deseeded and sliced

2 fat garlic cloves, sliced

100g chorizo, diced

1–2 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil

1 bay leaf

250g brown rice (well rinsed)

1 small chicken, jointed, or

6 bone-in chicken thighs

200ml white wine

About 500ml chicken stock

200g cherry tomatoes, halved if large

Sea salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C Fan/Gas 5. Put the onion(s), peppers, garlic and chorizo into a large roasting dish with just a trickle of oil (the chorizo will release its own fat so you don’t need much). Add the bay leaf and some salt and pepper and toss together well. Place in the oven for 25 minutes. Tip the rice into a saucepan, cover with plenty of boiling water and bring to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, until almost al dente (still firm to the bite), then drain.

 

  1. Heat a trickle more oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Season the chicken skin. Put half the chicken pieces into the pan, skin side down, and season their other sides. Fry the chicken for around 8 minutes, turning occasionally, until each piece is nicely browned. Transfer to a dish. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces. Everything should be coming together at roughly the same time now: veg, rice and chicken! If the veg or rice get a few minutes more cooking, it doesn’t matter.

 

  1. When you’ve taken all of the chicken out of the frying pan, add the wine. Let it bubble while you scrape up any caramelised bits from the base of the pan, and simmer for 3 minutes or so, until reduced by about half. Add the stock and bring to a brisk simmer.

 

  1. Take the tray of roast veg from the oven. Stir in the part-cooked rice then add the cherry tomatoes. Use tongs to place the browned chicken pieces on top, skin side up. Pour the hot stock around the chicken – it should just about cover the rice. Cover with foil and return to the oven for 30 minutes. Take off the foil, give the rice a gentle stir and finish in the oven for a final 15 minutes, or until everything is bubbling nicely and the chicken is cooked through.