Baked chicken with lemon and herb rice - so simple and so delicious

Baked Chicken with Lemon and Herb Rice

Serve with a tray of your favourite roast vegetables, or a side of greens.

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 2 lemons, juice and zest
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 4 cloves garlic, grated
• 6 chicken thighs, bone in skin on
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 cup long-grain rice
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, to serve

Method

1. Combine the lemon juice and zest, smoked paprika and garlic in a ziplock bag. Add the chicken thighs, making sure they are coated in the marinade. Leave in the fridge for one hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat the oven to 180º C.
3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Remove the chicken thighs from the ziplock bag (scrape the excess marinade back into the bag and reserve). Add the chicken thighs (in batches) to the hot pan and cook, skin side down first, until well browned. Remove from pan and set aside.
4. Dispose of any fat that’s left in the pan after browning the chicken and wipe the pan clean.
5. Return the pan to the heat and sauté the chopped onion in a little olive oil. Add the rice, stock, salt, oregano and reserved marinade and bring to the boil. Let it simmer for a minute or so, then transfer to an ovenproof dish.
6. Lay the chicken gently on top of the rice, skin side up and bake, covered (with foil or a lid), for 30 minutes. Then uncover and bake for a further 15 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed the liquid
7. Scatter a handful of chopped fresh parsley over the top (or your favourite mixed herbs).

Variation

Use the same cooking method with a different marinade for a completely different flavour, Coconut Lime Chicken:

Replace the lemon juice with lime juice, swap the paprika for shredded kaffir lime leaves and add a thumb-sized amount of grated ginger to the marinade.

Replace 1 cup of the chicken stock with coconut milk and use fresh coriander and mint in place of the oregano and parsley.‍