Pam's One Pot Chicken and Lemon Rice For Friday Night

Our Friday night meals have several criteria that I have to work with such as no gluten for Joe, several dislikes for some, no spicy heat for some, ease of clean up for Cindy, the ability to have it cook during the afternoon card session (we play before and after supper), etc.  So, when I saw this recipe for One Pot Chicken and Lemon Rice from Pam’s "For The Love Of Cooking" blog, it met them for the most part.  

Bev reminded me from Florida that we often get these recipes too lemony for our taste so I adjusted the recipe a little and served lemon wedges on the side.  Also, I used six thighs as that's what the package contained and chicken broth for the water as I had it on hand, then I put it in the marinade.  Click on the link above for the original recipe and Pam's great pics.

We can have as many as seven on Friday but with Bev, Pat, and Cindy at Marco Island, FL, there was only four of us (Kathy, Russ, Joe, and me) which fit this dish well.

One Pot Chicken and Lemon Rice – Slightly adapted from For The Love Of Cooking

The Ingredients:

Chicken and Marinade:

6 chicken thighs, bone-in & skin-on

2 lemons, juice & zest **Need a total of 4 tablespoons of lemon juice

3 tbsp. lemon juice and zest of one lemon

¾ c.+2 tbsp water chicken broth from below

1 tbsp. fresh oregano leaves, chopped (I used 1 tsp. dried)

4 cloves of garlic, minced (about 2 tsp.)

Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Rice:

1 tbsp. olive oil, divided

½ tbsp. butter

1 small yellow onion, diced

1¼ c. Jasmine rice **Long grain rice works well too

1½ c. chicken broth 

¾ cup water (moved to the marinade)

½ tsp. dried oregano leaves

Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Garnish:

Lemon wedges – Since I had reduced the amount of lemon, I served with lemon wedges for those who wanted more.

The Instructions:

1. Combine the lemon juice, zest, chicken broth (or water), oregano, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper together in a large zip-lock bag. Add the chicken thighs and mix to evenly coat. Seal the bag and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes or overnight (seven hours for me).

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the chicken from the marinade, reserving the marinade for the rice.

3. Heat 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken thighs skin side down, and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until golden brown; flip and continue to cook for another 4 minutes.  Remove the chicken from the Dutch oven and place it on a plate.

Pour out the fat and wipe out the Dutch oven with a paper towel to remove any blackened bits. Return to the stove over medium-high heat and add the remaining ½ tablespoon of olive oil and the butter (I didn't do this as I wanted all that flavor to stay in the dish even if it affected the rice color)

4. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes, until translucent. Add the rice and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.  Deglaze with a little chicken broth and scrap up the brown bits from the pan.

5. Add the reserved marinade, remaining chicken broth, oregano, sea salt, and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste. Bring up to a simmer and stir well. Allow to simmer for 30 seconds then add the chicken thighs skin side up (and their juices!) to the top of the rice. Cover with a lid and place into the oven.

6. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to bake for 10 minutes, or until all of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is nice and tender. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

I sided with some frozen green beans (still working down the freezer inventory) and lemon wedges.

The Verdict:

It was awesome and everyone raved about the meal - Kathy even loved the beans.  From a lemon standpoint, the rice was just right but the chicken needed more for me so I squeezed my lemon wedge on it or Pam's recommended zest would have worked well.  I think using the broth in the marinade also worked well as it provided more liquid for the chicken to soak in.  The rice may have been the best I've ever eaten and while not a big rice fan, I would make the dish just for it.  Thanks Pam for a real keeper and I'll make it for Bev when she gets home.

While it was still warm, I removed the meat from the two remaining thighs and mixed it with the rice for easy to eat leftovers and for breakfast the next morning it was this super good meal.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

11/18/22 meal date