One Pot Chicken and Saffron Rice
One pot chicken and saffron rice with saffron, olives and pimento is an easy weeknight meal that requires minimum work. The oven does the job for you.
One pot chicken and saffron rice with saffron, olives and pimento is an easy weeknight meal that requires minimum work. The oven does the job for you.
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 3 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 4 pieces of chicken (tights and drumsticks)
- 1 onion (spanish medium, chopped)
- 1 cup rice (rinsed)
- 0 5 grams saffron threads
- 1/4 cup peas (frozen)
- 1/4 cup olives (green halved)
- 1 tbsp italian parsley (chopped)
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon spanish smoked paprika (hot)
- 4 tbsp ghee or cooking oil
- Carbohydrate 18.5163175143236 g
- Cholesterol 14.400000012173 mg
- Fat 5.82099375486922 g
- Fiber 0.648175004005432 g
- Protein 12.6497450102254 g
- Saturated Fat 1.55121250130252 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (501g)
- Sodium 1856.42925058025 mg
- Sugar 17.8681425103182 g
- Trans Fat 0.413412500340845 g
- Calories 181 calories
Step-by-step
- Season the chicken with salt, pepper, sweet smoked paprika, Spanish smoked paprika and garlic powder. Covered and refrigerate for half hour.
- Heat up the ghee or oil in a oven proof skillet, add chicken skin side down and brown on each side for about 4 minutes.
- Once the chicken is browned remove it from the skillet and set aside. Discard all but one tablespoon of the oil.
- Add chopped onions to the skillet. Cook them until translucent for about 5 minutes.
- In the meantime heat up chicken stock in a separate pot, add saffron threads and let them steep and heat up the oven to 450 degrees F.
- Once the onions are cooked add garlic and cook for one minute.
- Add rice and stir to combine.
- Add the stock, mix everything together, place the chicken on top of the rice, skin side up and transfer the skillet to the oven
- Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the rice absorbs all the liquid and the chicken is cooked through (internal temperature is 165F).
- Take the skillet from the oven and add peas and olives into the rice. Mix gently so the peas is covered and will cook in the rice. Cover and wait about 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle parsley and serve. Enjoy.
The Mechanics of High-Heat Baking
Steeping saffron threads in warmed chicken stock extracts maximum water-soluble crocetin pigment before the liquid hits the grain. Placing the skillet into an oven preheated to 450 degrees Fahrenheit creates an ambient convection current that browns the poultry skin while simultaneously steaming the rice grains from below. Raw starches absorb precisely calculated ratios of flavored broth without scorching on the base of the pan. Maintaining a strict 25 to 30 minute baking window ensures the poultry meat reaches a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit without drying out the muscle fibers. Folding frozen peas and green olives into the residual heat during a ten-minute post-bake rest preserves their bright green chlorophyll and prevents muddying the aromatics.
Transforming Day-Two Grain Basins
Refrigerated rice grains undergo retrogradation, a process where starch molecules recrystallize and firm up overnight. Cold storage makes this dish an exceptional candidate for rapid second-day transformations in a hot wok or cast-iron skillet. Add two tablespoons of neutral oil to a cold pan, break apart the chilled rice clumps with a wooden paddle, and fry until individual grains develop a toasted exterior. The poultry meat shreds easily once chilled, allowing for quick integration into morning congees or midday frittatas. Store the cooked components in an airtight glass container for up to four days.
