Friday Finds: Spanish Rice with Chicken

It's getting chilly in Chicago and I could not be happier. I love sweaters, fireplaces, pumpkin everything... it's my favorite weather.

And when the weather is chilly like this, I love nothing more than making a big dinner that is really hearty and comforting. Now, I'm not a pot pie or chicken and dumplings kind of cook, but I can certainly appreciate comfort food. Inspired to make a cozy dish for dinner, I was leafing through Everyday Chicken: A Collection of Over 100 Essential Recipes and came across this recipe for Spanish Rice with Chicken. This is a dish that I love to order at restaurants, but have never attempted to make on my own. There is something so comforting about the combination of chicken and rice, but the addition of Spanish flavors of tomato, peppers, and saffron takes it to a different level.

The flavors here are wonderful and the recipe is actually very simple. Everything is simmered in one pot, which (I think) always lends a really slow cooked flavor to a dish. In reality, this probably took about 1 hour in total to prepare. Not bad considering a lot of the cooking time is hands off, so you can work on other things while the rice simmers. I served this with some simple roasted zucchini on the side to round out a tasty and satisfying cold weather dinner.
 
Ingredients:

• 3 Tbs. olive oil
• 2 lb. chicken pieces
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 onions, sliced
• 6 oz. long-grain rice *I used brown rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Pinch of saffron threads, lightly crushed
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1-2 serrano chiles, seeded and diced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 beefsteak tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped

Heat 2 Tbs. oil in a flameproof casserole dish. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, add to the casserole, and cook over medium heat, turning occasionally, for 8-10 minutes, our until golden. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon.

Add the remaining oil to the casserole. Add the onions and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, or until teh grains are transparent and coated with oil.

Pour in the wine. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and let simmer for 8 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed. Combine the saffron and broth and pour into the casserole. Stir in the chiles and garlic and season with salt. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and return the chicken pieces to the casserole, pushing them down into the rice. Cover and cook for an additional 25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and tender.