www.epicureantable.com

poultry - chicken, rice, gremolata, recipe

t=teaspoon T=tablespoon

These recipes are for your personal use only and may not be added in any form to archives or other works.

Chicken Thighs with Herbs on Lemon Rice with Gremolata (Photo below)
Flavoured with lemon zest and a little juice, this baked rice dish is heavenly finished off with that wonderful Italian staple, gremolata - parsley, lemon zest and garlic (recipe below). Under the skin of the thighs are fresh sage and thyme twigs, but dried will also do. An easy and unforgettable dish!

serves 4
preheat oven to 200°C.
bake for ca. 30 minutes

4 chicken thighs, with skin
500 ml. chicken broth

200 g. short grain rice (+ - 1 c.)

3 bay leaves

8 sm. to med. sage leaves

4 generous twigs of thyme

grated zest of one lemon plus its juice
1 med. onion
1 garlic clove
olive oil
a little butter (optional)

salt, pepper

2 T. fresh grated parmesan (not the pre-grated!)

for the gremolata:

3 T. minced flat leaf parsley

1 minced garlic clove

grated zest of 1 lemon (or use your zester and finely chop the zest)

Wash and dry the thighs. From the garlic, shave or slice 8 very thin slivers of garlic. Reserve the rest. Slip a finger under the skin and create a pocket large enough to hold the herbs. Rub in a little salt and pepper. Lay two slivers of garlic and then the herbs. Press the skin a little to firm the pocket and salt and pepper the underside. Repeat for the other three thighs.

In a medium sized oven proof pan, pour enough olive oil to generously coat the bottom. Heat over medium-high. Add the remaining garlic and one bay leaf, lay the chicken thighs skin side down and fry until golden (light brown). Turn and fry the other sides for a few minutes. Remove to a plate.

While the chicken is frying, chop the onion and sauté in a little oil until soft. Grate off the lemon zest and reserve. Squeeze out the juice and likewise reserve. While the onion cooks, rinse the rice briefly in a strainer and allow to drain. Heat the broth with the lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

When the onion is soft, add about a teaspoon of butter if using and allow to melt. Add the rice, the remaining bay leaves and the lemon zest and sauté for several minutes, stirring now and again to prevent browning. Pour over the broth mixture and allow to simmer rapidly for a few minutes. Lay the four thighs equally on top of the rice and place in the oven. Loosely lay a sheet of aluminum foil on top.

Drain off the oil from the pan the chicken was fried in being careful not to loose the brown juices. Discard the garlic clove. Heat the pan again and add a little water (or broth) to deglaze the pan. Strain. When the rice has cooked about 15 minutes, pour over this juice in an 'X' between the chicken thighs. Return to oven and cook uncovered for 15 minutes more.

While it is baking, stir together the gremolata ingredients. Just before serving, remove the meat to a warm dish. Distribute the parmesan and the gremolata over the rice. Use a fork to gently lift and stir it through. Replace the chicken if you like and present to the table, or serve immediately on plates. Garnish - if you have them - with lemon leaves or a twig of thyme and parley tied together with the stem of the parsley.

Note: if you are worried about frying the chicken in oil - don't. The chicken will not absorb the oil but it is necessary to quickly seal the meat and brown the skin. Just lift it off with the herbs on your plate. The skin acts as a protective cover to prevent the meat from drying out and to keep the flavour of the herbs in. This dish cooks so quickly because the rice and the chicken is partially cooked.

Tip: serve a rucula salad with wedges of tomato garnished with shavings of parmesan cheese dressed with balsamico vinegar and a little olive oil. Likewise, the cold Cucumber and Mint Soup goes also well! Grilled summer vegetables such as slices of aubergine, sweet red pepper and onion go nicely with this.

All recipes are excerpts from "Welcome to My Kitchen" - The Epicurean Table and are copyright of the author. Recipes are not to be

added to any form of archive or other works of any kind. Contact the author for further information.