Description
You may think that the chicken is the key ingredient in this recipe and you probably right. Or we may say it's the crunchy oven baked rice - I agree because it's the best! This oven baked chicken and crunchy rice casserole recipe is pure flavor!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 cup cooked white rice
- 700 grams chicken drumsticks, or thighs
- Olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon chicken spice
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic & herb (optional)
- 400 grams canned tomatoes in sauce
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
Instructions
- Dry and coat the chicken: Dry the chicken pieces with paper towel and drizzle with olive oil,salt, black pepper and chicken spice. Feel free to add any of your spice preferences
- Sear the chicken: Heat a fairly large non-stick pan on medium-high heat, (so the drumsticks are not overcrowded) and add the oil to heat. Once it's hot, add the chicken and sear on both sides.
- Once the skin on the chicken is golden brown, remove it from the pan and set it aside.
- Preheat the oven: Preheat to 200 degrees C / 400 degree
- Aromatics: Same pan,the oil will be brown with bits inside - don't change the oil! Add the diced onion in there and let it cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring here and there to prevent burning. Add the minced garlic, stir it in and lower the heat. This is the time to add any additional spices. I added 1 teaspoon dried garlic and herb spice and 1 teaspoon smoked paprika into the onions as they cook for yet another flavor layer.
- Note:Adding spices into the onions is completely optional, without this step, your recipe will still taste amazing! It's for the extra cooks like me 🙂
- Deglaze:Add the wine, mix, scraping any bits off the bottom of the pan. Add a bit at a time and as it cooks out, add a little more. Roughly ½ cup of wine.
- Add the tomatoes: You can increase the heat back up to medium-high and add the canned tomatoes. Cook for about 3-4 minutes for the sauce to thicken a little.
- Note:Our canned or whole cherry tomatoes cook in no time.
- Add the chicken: Return the seared chicken, make sure the chicken is well coated into the sauce. Here's why we needed a big pan!
- Rice: Add the cooked rice, gently spreading it across the chicken.
- Bake: Into a preheated oven (1st step at the top of this section) and bake at 190°C / 374°F for about 10 - 15 minutes or until the top of the rice is has turned crispy and golden brown.
- Note: You may need to turn your oven to grill (broiler) but in that case depending on how hot your grill is lower the rack so it doesn't burn and then watch it!
- Remove from the oven and rest:Let the crispy chicken and crunchy rice dish rest for 5 minutes (it has worked hard in the oven and needs to rest 🙂
- Carve and Serve: Add fresh parsley, coriander or oregano. Once cooled, carve into plates or small bowl.
Notes
- Refrigerate: Once cooled completely, store in an airtigh container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- To Reheat: Carve into a small microwave-safe bowl on high heat until heated through or on 20-30 second blasts at a time.
- Freezer: This chicken rice when packed for storage carfefully in an airtight freezer friendly container, will freeze for up to 4 months. Be sure to thaw before reheating. When reheating large quantities, use the stove and add a splash of liquid (water or chicken stock) to help it along from sticking.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove-top
- Cuisine: South African, Western
Nutrition
- Calories: 239
- Sugar: 4
- Sodium: 171
- Fat: 12
- Saturated Fat: 3
- Carbohydrates: 15
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 16
- Cholesterol: 72