Chicken and Rice

I know, a second entry today! I'm on a roll.... Really I just had to share this recipe that I made for lunch today.

To keep with the small kitchen cooking formula, I made chicken and rice, a one-pot easy meal. This is delicious and super easy to make. Definitely comfort food any time of year.

I used brown rice but you can definitely use whatever rice you have. Arborio rice is usually used for risottos but this is not necessarily a risotto so any other white rice including long grain rice will work too.

The goat cheese is a surprise element even for me. Our fridge was practically empty and I was trying to figure out what else to add to this to impart more flavor – hence the lonely tomato and goat cheese. They both work and the cheese adds a creamy saltiness to the dish that works perfectly. You can very well make this without the goat cheese but if you have it, use it.

¼ of a small purple onion

2-3 garlic gloves

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 cup of rice

3-4 chicken pieces (wings, drumsticks or thighs)

water (about 8 cups)

2 teaspoons of salt

1 tomato

2 tablespoons of goat cheese

Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat. Dice the onion and sauté in the oil. Chop the garlic or grate it into the oil. Let the onions and garlic caramelize for a minute or two. Add the rice to the pot and fry slightly until it has absorbed the oil.

Sprinkle the salt over the chicken pieces and add them to the pot with the rice. Pour enough water over the rice and chicken to cover, which in my case was about 8 cups. This really depends on how big the chicken pieces are. Chop the tomato and add it to the pot. Cover the pot and bring to a vigorous boil. Once it has boiled for a bit (10 minutes or so), turn down the heat to medium/low and let it simmer until the rice is cooked. Brown rice takes a long time to cook so I cooked it for 30-40 minutes. If you let it cook longer, the meat will soften and fall off the bone, which I recommend. During the last 10 minutes of cooking, crumble the goat cheese into the chicken and rice mixture and stir until dissolved. Bon appétit!