Sunday, February 17, 2013

Chicken and Rice

 
Comfort Food Alert!!!! From Lidia's Favorite Recipes. Oh this was very good. Perfect for a cold day like today. It was quite easy to make. It required a bit of hands on time but so worth the time spend at the stove.

This recipe serves 4 to 6 people. I cut it in half and still had leftovers for lunch.

Ingredients -
1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 cup onion cut into 1- inch chunks
1 cup carrot cut into 1- inch chunks
1 cup celery cut into 1- inch chunks
2 plumb cloves of garlic (I did not add the garlic)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. kosher salt
1 fresh bay leaf (I used dried)
1 cup dry white wine
5 cups hot chicken or turkey stock (I used chicken)
2 cups Italian short-grain rice such as Arborio
2 tbsp butter, cut into pieces
3 tbsp chopped Italian
1 /2 cup grated Parmigiano, plus more for passing


Method -
Trim any extra fat from the chicken and cut the thighs into 1 inch chunks.  In a food processor, mince the onion, carrot, celery and garlic into a fine textured pestata.
Pour the olive oil into a large saucepan and set over medium high heat. Stir in the pestata and and season with one teaspoon of the salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the pestata has dried. Toss in the chicken and the bay leaf, and sprinkle with one more teaspoon of the salt. Cook until the chicken is browning and caramelizing. Raise the heat and add the wine, stirring and scraping up the browned bits in the pan. Cook until the most of the wine has evaporated. While stirring, pour in the hot stock and the rice. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover and reduce the heat to keep it bubbling gently. Cook for 14 minutes (It took me 20 minutes), or until the rice and chicken are fully cooked and the rice is a creamy consistency.

Turn off the heat and drop in the butter, stirring until it's completely incorporated, then stir in the parsley and the 1/2 cup of grated cheese. Serve immediately with additional cheese to pass around at the table.

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