Chicken and Chorizo Salsa Skillet
Try this Chicken and Chorizo Salsa Skillet recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Chicken and Chorizo Salsa Skillet recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 medium onion diced
- 6 oz (2 links) fully cooked chorizo chicken sausage sliced on a bias (the kind that comes pre-cooked, such as al fresco)
- 8 oz uncooked whole grain wild rice blend (i used wegma
- 16 oz roasted tomato salsa or your favorite type (wegmans, frontera, wholly salsa, etc all have roasted tomato salsas)
- 12 oz cooked chicken breast chopped or shredded (i used grilled, but any kind would work)
- 1/3 cup chopped green olives with pimientos (i also used a
- Carbohydrate 4.52396666666667 g
- Cholesterol 48.19418927 mg
- Fat 2.63582261624789 g
- Fiber 0.803833355108897 g
- Protein 18.1331774645733 g
- Saturated Fat 0.670375366653308 g
- Serving Size 1 1 (1 generous cup) serving (296g)
- Sodium 45.8952108563411 mg
- Sugar 3.72013331155777 g
- Trans Fat 0.340898920773199 g
- Calories 118 calories
Step-by-step
- Pre-heat the oven to 400.
- In a large, oven-safe skillet, saute pan or Dutch oven, bring a teaspoon of the olive oil over med-high heat.
- Add the sliced sausage and stir to coat with oil.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally until sausage has browned a bit on both sides.
- Remove sausage to a side plate.
- Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil to the pan and add the diced onion.
- Stir to coat and spread to cook for 3-4 minutes until onions begin to get tender.
- Add the minced garlic and the uncooked rice to the pan and stir to combine.
- Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally until rice is toasted.
- Carefully add the water, salsa and reserved sausage to the pan and stir together thoroughly.
- Cover the pan with a lid and bring to a bubbly simmer over high heat.
- Place the covered pan into the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove pan and sprinkle the chicken and olives over the top of the skillet mixture.
- Re-cover and place the pan back into the oven for another 10 minutes.
- Remove pan from the oven and allow it to sit covered for 10 additional minutes.
- Stir chicken and olives into the mixture until well combined and then serve.
Toasting raw wild rice directly in the skillet requires precise temperature management before any liquid enters the pan. Cook the onions and garlic at medium-high heat with two teaspoons of olive oil until the aromatics soften, then add the dry grains. Stir constantly for three to four minutes until the wild rice develops a nutty aroma and slightly opaque edges. Skipping this dry-heat step leaves the grains stubbornly hard after baking, because uncooked wild grain hulls resist moisture absorption without initial scarification from heat and oil.
Successful execution of this single-vessel technique demands specific cookware. Use a heavy-bottomed, oven-safe Dutch oven or a cast-iron skillet measuring at least twelve inches across, equipped with a tight-fitting metal or glass lid. Thin aluminum pans create hot spots that scorch the rice long before the oven heat penetrates the center. If your primary pan lacks an oven-safe handle, transfer the contents to a 9x13-inch glass baking dish after bringing the mixture to a simmer on the stovetop, sealing the top tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil to trap the steam.
Baking occurs at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for a total of thirty-five minutes, split into two distinct stages. The initial twenty-five-minute bake hydrates the wild rice blend using the combined moisture of water and bottled roasted tomato salsa. Adding precooked chicken and green olives during the final ten-minute window prevents the tender poultry from drying out under intense dry heat. Rest the covered vessel for ten additional minutes away from the heat source before serving, allowing residual thermal energy to equalize moisture distribution throughout the grains.
Leftovers stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator maintain optimal texture for up to four days. Reheat chilled portions gently in a covered skillet over medium-low heat with two tablespoons of added water to reconstitute the rice starches without burning the bottom layer.
