Arroz con Pollo

"Mystery Box Madness", the theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). We are free to cook with any of IHCC's previous and present chefs, using at least three of this month's mystery ingredients ; potatoes, buttermilk, flour, paprika, onion, leafy greens (any kind), lemon, honey, shrimp/prawn and feta. 

I've cooked Diana Henry's one pot rice meal, using four of the mystery box ingredients ; onion, paprika, leafy greens (parsley) and lemon.

Really easy one-pot dish to cook. It comes together pretty quickly. I have however omitted the chorizo as I do not have any. Recipe uses Spanish paella rice, but I have used arborio rice, as Spanish paella rice is not easily available in the area where I live. The chicken thighs are first browned all over, remove and keep aside while the bell peppers, chorizo (if using), are sauted until the bell peppers soften. Add in the chopped onions and garlic, cook until the onions are soft. Stir in paprika, red chilli flakes and chicken stock. Return the chicken thigh pieces to the pan and simmer, covered, over low heat for 15 minutes. Transfer to a wide, ovenproof baking dish, scatter the rice around the chicken, season well, and finish off the cooking in the oven, until the rice is cooked and stock has been absorbed, about 20 minutes. (mine took a little longer, 25-30 minutes, maybe because I've used arborio rice).

Serve hot, garnished with lots of chopped parsley. I love the smokey flavour from the paprika and the light fragrance from the red bell pepper. Chicken is very tender and tasty. Though the recipe suggest to drizzle this rice dish with olive oil before serving, I omitted that, as it does not need it. However, do not skip the lemon juice, it complements well with this rice dish!

Arroz Con Pollo y Chorizo
(adapted from "Pure Simple Cooking", Diana Henry)
serves 6
1/2 cup extra virgin oil, plus more as needed
12 chicken thighs, bone in, skin on
salt and pepper
2 red bell peppers, seeded and sliced
8 oz Spanish chorizo, cut into small chunks
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp pimenton (smoked Spanish paprika)
1 tsp dried red pepper flakes
5-1/4 cups chicken stock
2 cups Spanish paella rice (Calasparra or Valencia)
2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
juice of 1 lemon

1. Heat the olive oil in a broad shallow pan, season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper, and brown on all sides. Take the chicken out of the pan and set aside. Add the bell peppers and chorizo to the same pan and saute over medium heat until the pepper softens. Throw in the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is soft. Stir in the paprika and red pepper flakes and cook for a minute, then add the chicken stock. Return the chicken pieces to the pan, and simmer, covered, over low heat for 15 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 350F. Most people don't have a pan big enough to fit all the chicken in a single layer and still have room for the rice, so transfer the chicken, vegetables, and stock to a big, wide ovenproof dish - the one I use for this is 13 inches in diameter. Pour the rice around the chicken and season really well with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes, until the stock has been absorbed and the top is golden. When cooked, cover the dish with aluminium foil and leave for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil to serve.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week "Mystery Box Madness : January 2015"

and

Cook-Your-Books #20 @ kitchen flavours