Chicken with Chorizo, Chillis, Onions, Peppers and Garlic with Rice
I've come across a few recipes that are very similar to this, but I devised this version years ago and I like it because there is very little to weigh or measure. Most recently, I cooked it for my long-standing, 5 strong book group and they said they enjoyed it. Praise from them is hard won, so counts for something.
Ingredients: (Feeds as many as required – in this case 5)
2 chicken thighs per person – or a leg cut in 2 if necessary.
1 chorizo – circa 225 grams – peeled and sliced into discs.
3 bell peppers – 2 red and 1 yellow looks good.
3 to 4 large coves of garlic peeled and sliced.
Kalamata olives x 70 grams – pitted.
2 red chilies (or 1 red and 1 green) de-seeded and chopped.
2 medium sized Spanish onion – peeled and sliced in fine strips.
1 bottle of Chardonnay – leaving a glass or 2 for the cook.
Olive oil, salt, pepper and Tabasco.
Basmati and wild rice x 75 grams per diner.
Vegan bouillon powder x 1 teaspoon.
Method
Pre-heat a fan oven to 180 degrees C. Wash, de-seed and finely slice the peppers into strips then add them to a large roasting dish. De-seed and slice the chilies and add them and the garlic to the roasting dish, along with the onions and the chorizo. Trim any loose skin off the chicken and add that too - season the chicken with salt, pepper and Tabasco. Drizzle the roasting tin with 2-3 tablespoons of olive then place it in the oven.
After about 15 minutes add a couple of glasses of wine to the roasting dish, stir everything and close the oven door. After an hour open the oven turn all the chicken over and re-season if desired. More wine can also be added now if things look to be drying out – the finished dish should have a wet texture and plenty of liquid.
Now rinse the rice thoroughly. Cook it by adding just enough water to be one centimetre above surface of the rice, add the bouillon powder, cover and simmer for 25 minutes on a medium hob. Reduce the heat as the water evaporates and stir frequently. Cooking time should be around 25 minutes and you should not need to drain the rice.
Whilst the rice is cooking check the chicken and turn each piece a final time. Put some shallow bowls in the oven and switch the oven off. After a 5 minute rest, while you lay the table, serve the chicken, chorizo vegetables and juices on a bed of the rice in each bowl. Eat and serve with a white or red wine of your choosing.
(Our book, by the way, was Kevin Barry's excellent 'There Are Little Kingdoms', a pithy collection of short stories from a master of the genre. It too comes highly-recommended).
