Fragrant chicken-rice bake
Another day, another spin on the never fail rice-chook combo. You just can’t go wrong with these two staples. We’ve yet to meet anyone who dislikes either rice or chicken, or objects to the two together. There are so many culinary routes that lead to chicken and rice happiness, from oyakodon (a Japanese dish of chicken cooked in stock, finished with egg, then served over rice), danbauk (Myanmar chicken biryani), West African jollof rice, Persian chicken-rice polow, Saudi al kabsa (fragrant chicken in tomato sauce with raisins and basmati rice), to Hainan chicken rice and any number of southeast Asian permutations. Like khao mok gai, which is kind of like a Thai biryani. The Cajuns, the Cubans, the Chadians and the Chinese… everyone puts chicken and rice together in their own delicious ways. This recipe is inspired by Spanish-y ingredients and our deep love of a one-pot dish. To make, you brown your chicken, sweat off onions, bung everything together with spices, rice and stock, then cover the pan and bake until all the parts are cooked. It’s a BIT hard to nail the stock amount down to the forensically exact amount; that’s because the chicken will release liquid of its own and that amount will vary, depending on how big your bird bits are. Check the rice after 30 minutes and see how it is travelling; if it’s still a bit hard and the liquid is gone, drizzle 50-60ml more stock or water into the pan and continue cooking. You can cook 8 thighs here, if yours are looking a touch small when you go to buy.
SERVES 4-6
60ml (¼ cup) olive oil, approximately
6 large chicken thighs, on the bone
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely grated or chopped
4 tsp smoked paprika
2½ tsp cumin seeds
60g (⅓ cup) raisins
60g (½ cup) pitted green olives, or however many you like
400g (2 cups) brown basmati rice
80ml (⅓ cup) sherry
560ml (2¼ cup) chicken stock
Parsley aioli
6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 egg yolks
1½ tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp sherry vinegar, or to taste
250ml (1 cup) extra virgin olive oil
1 packed cup curly-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
1 green jalapeño (optional)
Preheat the oven to 180˚C.
Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large frying pan with an oven-proof handle over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, skin side down, season well with salt and pepper, then cook for about 5 minutes or until deep golden. Turn over, season again, then cook for another 2 minutes to seal. Remove the chicken to a plate. Add a little more oil to the pan if necessary, then add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 minutes or until softened. Add the spices, raisins and olives, stir for 1 minute or until fragrant, then add the rice and stir to mix well. Add the sherry, let it boil and evaporate for a minute or two, then add the stock and bring to a simmer. Return the chicken to the pan, skin side up, pushing it into the rice a little. Cover the pan with a lid or a few layers of tight-fitting foil, then bake for 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender – check the rice after about 30 minutes and add 50-60ml more stock or water to the pan if the rice is catching on the base. Don’t add too much extra liquid as the rice should be quite dry and will finish steaming while it rests. Remove the pan from the oven then stand, covered, for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, for the parsley aioli, combine the garlic, egg yolks, mustard and vinegar in a food processor and process until combined well. With the motor running, very slowly add the oil until a thick, emulsified mixture forms. Add the parsley and jalapeño, if using, then process well, adding a little warm water to thin the aioli to a heavy drizzling consistency. Taste, then season with salt and pepper and a dash more of vinegar if you like.
Serve the chicken and rice drizzled with the aioli.
