I’ve been making rice with meat for years. It’s a convenient, easy way to stretch meat when you don’t have much of it and lots of people to feed. And a great way to use up extra vegetables because it’s an adaptable recipe where any combination of meat and vegetables works fine. The recipe feeds 6 or 4 generously.
This will be my last blog post for several weeks as I now need to concentrate on finishing my screenplay which was due today but I’m not happy with it yet so have to concentrate on that for the next few weeks.
In a Dutch oven, heat over medium high heat:
2 tablespoons olive oil
Add:
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic powder (if using breasts cut into large cubes
The object is to brown the meat and build flavor as well as sear the meat to keep all the juices in it. This should take about 5 minutes, 2 1/2 minutes per side. When browned, remove the chicken pieces to a plate and add to the pot:
1 medium onion diced
6-8 stalks of celery diced
1/2 cup chopped carrots (or grated)
1 cup diced mushrooms
Sauté for several minutes until onion starts to brown. Add:
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons to 2 tablespoons sweet or spicy paprika depending on your taste
2-3 bay leaves
1 cup frozen or fresh peas (if using fresh, add with the rice)
2 cups chicken stock (or, if possible, 1 cup of white wine and 1 cup of stock)*
1 tablespoon date syrup or date sugar
Stir to mix and add the chicken back into the pot along with any juices that are on the plate. Cover and simmer on low heat for approximately a half hour until chicken is cooked. Stir in:
1 cup rice (I used a wild rice blend but feel free to use whatever rice you prefer)
Simmer covered until rice is cooked, stirring frequently to be sure rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. This should cook out all the liquid but if not, cook uncovered until most of the liquid is gone. If the rice isn’t cooked but the liquid is all absorbed, add 1/4 cup stock and continue cooking covered until rice is done. Remove the bay leaves, taste and add additional salt if needed. Serve garnished with chives.
*If using wine, deglaze the pan with the wine before adding the stock. This will cook off the alcohol.
cookingwithoutallergens 