It's all about the rice...

After a bit of a hiatus, I am back in the kitchen. The hiatus, forced by one of those pesky summer cold bugs, at least gave the kids the chance to rediscover the joys of In-n-Out, and 'breakfast for dinner'. As for me, my appetite suffers when I have a cold, but there were several new flavors of kettle chips that I needed to try out, so there's that job done.

For my first venture back into culinary normality, I chose to do a chicken dish from Judith Finlayson's book 'The Complete Whole Grains Cookbook'. I have really been enjoying dabbling with different whole grains, and one of the unexpected discoveries for me is that the grain can actually be the star of the dish. I had always thought of rice et al as just 'fillers', something there just to soak up a delicious sauce, and fill up hungry children at dinner time, who otherwise are more likely to indulge in bedtime avoidance to the tune of 'But I'm staaaaaarving..!'. But no, apparently there is more to them (the grains, not the children, who really are that shallow). This dish is a case in point, as the chicken was, to our taste, a bit tough. I think next time I will use chicken thighs, rather than chicken breasts. The rice meanwhile was completely delicious! We are talking zero-leftovers-tasty. It has a glorious nutty texture, which is beautiful with the silky onions and peppers, crispy pancetta and delicate lemon flavor. I'm dribbling just writing about it.

Italian-Style Chicken and Rice
serves 5

1 cup short grain brown rice
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 TBSP olive oil
2 lbs chicken breasts (skin on and bone-in preferably)
2 oz pancetta, finely chopped
2 onions, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 yellow pepper, cut into thin 1" strips
1 TBSP finely grated lemon zest
1 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
salt and pepper
2 TBSP freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a heavy saucepan, combine rice and stock. Bring to rapid boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside (DO NOT DRAIN!)
3. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken in batches and cook, turning once, until nicely browned (about 5 minutes per batch). Transfer to a plate and set aside. Drain off all but 1 TBSP of any fat in the pan.
4. Reduce heat to medium and add pancetta. Cook stirring for 2 minutes, then add onions and pepper and cook stirring until softened (about 3 minutes).
5. Add garlic, lemon zest, Italian seasoning and cook for a further 1 minute, stirring. Add reserved rice (with the remaining liquid in there too) and bring to a boil.
6. Transfer to a dutch oven. Arrange chicken over the top. Cover and bake in  preheated oven for 45 minutes.
Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and drizzle with lemon juice to serve.