Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Here is a great hearty recipe for Chicken and Brown Rice with Chorizo. It’s all made in one pot and baked in the oven. Pretty much any dish with Spanish chorizo interests me. In Santa Fe, you can buy Chorizo at Ziggy's and at The Spanish table. The recipe uses chicken thighs, which are cheap and really much tastier then the all-too-common boneless chicken breast. This one-pot dish is similar to arroz con pollo, the classic Spanish and Latin American specialty, but the brown rice is a big plus.
Ingredients
2 1/2 lbs. bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 lb. smoked, dried Spanish chorizo, cut into 1"-thick slices
2 tbsp. roughly chopped fresh oregano
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups Basmati brown rice, rinsed
1/2 cup white wine
3 roasted red peppers, peeled, seeded, and cut into thick strips
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup frozen peas (optional)
Procedure
Heat oven to 400°. Season the chicken lightly with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a 4-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the chicken, skin side down, and cook, without turning, until the skin is a deep golden brown, about 8 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Pour off and discard any accumulated fat and juices. Add the chorizo and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chorizo to a plate, leaving the fat behind in the Dutch oven.
Add oregano, red pepper, garlic, onion, and bay leaf to the Dutch oven and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is lightly browned and somewhat soft, about 8 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring frequently, until surface is glossy, about 2 minutes. Add wine, bring to a boil while stirring often, and reduce by half, about 1 minute. Nestle chicken, chorizo, and peppers into rice mixture. Pour in broth and season liquid to taste with salt and pepper. Cover the Dutch oven and bring to a boil over high heat. Transfer to the oven and bake until rice is tender and chicken is cooked through, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Remove the dish from oven, uncover, and gently stir in the peas with a fork. Let sit for 10 minutes, covered, to allow the flavors to meld.
