Spanish Style Chicken and Rice
This one pot recipe has all the beautiful flavours that remind me of Spain: tomato, garlic, lemon, oregano, paprika and saffron. The rice is glossy and packed full of flavour, from the stock, and the chicken will steam on top of the rice. You can skip the chicken and use a homemade vegetable stock, to make this Vegetarian, I would just add more beans at the end of cooking. This is feast style cooking at its best, and would make a beautiful centre-piece to a weekend family meal.
I use a shallow 30cm size pan, to cook this as the rice needs to cook evenly. In this recipe I am using Calasparra rice, the key thing to remember is once the rice is cooking you don’t want to stir it, or even touch it. It is very low maintenance and wants to be left alone!
Not suitable for freezing ~ Recipe serves 6-8 portions
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, peeled and chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
225g Spanish rice, I am using Calasparra rice
500ml stock, no salt/ low salt
1 can (400g) Organic Plum Tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 pinch saffron (optional)
bay leaf
400g chicken breast, cut into mini fillets
To finish ~
100g green beans, trimmed
100g white beans
1 lemon, juice only
chopped parsley
Calasparra rice
You will also need a shallow pan to cook in: 30cm approx, you want this to simmer the rice evenly
Take the large shallow pan and add 2 tablespoons of oil and the chopped onion, then soften for 10 minutes. Next add the crushed garlic and rice, stir and coat the rice in the oil and garlic 1-2 mins. In a large jug combine the stock, tinned tomatoes, dried oregano, paprika, saffron and stir: then add to the pan and pour over the rice, evenly. Stir once to make sure the rice and stock are combined. Adjust the heat so that it is on a low gentle bubble and don’t touch it! You must leave the rice alone: the key to this dish is not to stir this rice or move it at all.
Add 1 bay leaf in the centre and place the chicken strips around it in a star, fanning the dish. Cover with a lid and simmer low and slow for 40 mins. The rice will cook and absorb the stock mix. The chicken will cook through on top. You can check it but don’t move anything in the pan. The rice will form a crusty crispy bottom of, that becomes caramelised and toasted on the bottom of the pan when it is cooking. The crust on the bottom is called the socarrat and is part of cooking with Spanish rice well, it really is delicious.
Just 5 mins from the end of cooking scatter with the white beans and green beans, cover again with a lid. This will stop the beans being soggy, in the finished dish.
Finally, remove from the heat and rest for 10 minutes. The chicken and rice should be cooked. Finish with a scattering of chopped parsley and the juice of a whole lemon. It’s ready to eat, enjoy.