One Skillet Greek Chicken And Rice

Can you believe that this is my first one skillet recipe?!  Or maybe it’s just the first recipe that I intentionally tried making in one skillet – so we’re just going to count it as my first one.  And I’d like to think I started off with a bang!  This One Skillet Greek Chicken and Rice is de-licious!

I usually cook and photograph my food on the weekends.  One – because I work during the week and am EXHAUSTED by the end of the day, and two I love shooting in natural light.  So I tend to make two to three recipes every weekend, four if I’m running behind.  I’ll have a bite or so of each, maybe one will be my lunch and we’ll have another for dinner and leftovers are packed up for lunch for the rest of the week.  But this rice – I COULD NOT STOP EATING!

I was digging around the chicken to get the basmati rice that was peppered with olives and tomatoes and seasoned with oregano and lemon.  I kept going back for more and more – I barely had any to put in containers to save for later.  I’m pretty sure I could eat this rice for the rest of my days.

And that’s not to say anything about the chicken, which is moist and packed with flavor, seasoned with the same deliciousness as the rice.  It all just kind of cooks together so the rice has the flavor from the drippings of the chicken and chicken has the brininess from the olives and sweetness from the tomatoes that cooks in the rice.

Why we just don’t cook everything in one skillet all the time is beyond me!?

The basmati rice was sent to me to try in a recipe.  It’s Royal Basmati Rice and did you know that basmati rice can only come from the foothills of the Himalayas otherwise it is not truly an authentic basmati rice?! Me either!  But the rice was absolutely delicious – tender but still toothy enough to have a great texture.

So now we’ve learned something plus I have a delicious rice recipe in my arsenal.  I can easily see myself making this again (this week!).

• 5-6 chicken thighs (with bones and skin)
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• zest from 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped and divided
• 4 garlic cloves, diced
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 2 cups chicken broth
• ¼ cup water
• ½ cup cherry tomatoes
• ¼ cup pitted kalamata olives
• pepper, to taste
• lemon slices, for garnish

Instructions

1. In a resealable plastic bag, combine chicken thighs, lemon juice, lemon zest, 1 tablespoon oregano, garlic cloves and 1 teaspoon salt. Seal the bag and massage everything together so that the chicken thighs are coated.
2. Let sit for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
4. Remove chicken from bag, reserving any leftover marinade.
5. In a cast iron skillet, over medium high heat, heat one tablespoon olive oil. Place the chicken in the skillet, skin side down, and cook until skin is golden brown, about 3-5 minutes. Turn chicken to the other side and cook until golden brown again. Remove chicken and set aside.
6. Clean any excess fat from the pan and wipe clean with a paper towel. Add lemons slices, if using, and brown at this time.
7. Pour remaining olive oil in stove. Add diced onions once oil heats up and cook until onions are just starting to get brown on the edges.
8. Add rice, chicken brown, water, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives and any remaining marinade. Stir together and let the liquid come to a simmer.
9. Place the chicken on top of the rice mixture and then cover with aluminum foil.
10. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and then bake an additional 10 minutes, or until the liquid has absorbed.
11. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Top with browned lemon slices and serve.