Chicken, Peas and Pesto Rice
Description
A great (almost) one-pot wonder for a cozy weeknight comfort food moment from NYT Cooking. The original uses thighs, but I had chicken breasts on hand so I gave them a light, quick brine for about 10 minutes before cooking them – enjoy!
Ingredients
~2 lbs. chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes, brined in generously salted water for 10 minutes and drained well (or use cubed thighs straight up)
a good grinding of freshly ground pepper, a good pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 to 1 t. kosher salt – though you may not want to add any if you brined the chicken
2 T. avocado oil (or olive oil)
~1 c. diced white or yellow onion AND 1 T. finely minced garlic
1 1/2 c. jasmine rice
1 L. chicken broth AND 1 jar (180 mL) Anna’s Nut-Free Pesto
~3 c. frozen peas – I used half of a 750 g bag
fresh basil and lemon wedges for serving if you wish
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 and heat the oil in a large, oven-proof pot (Dutch oven) over medium-high heat. Add the chicken with a generous sprinkling of pepper and red pepper flakes (as you wish) and cook for several minutes until the chicken is lightly browned, but it doesn’t have to be fully cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pot to a plate and set aside.
Immediately add the onion and garlic and saute for a couple of minutes, scraping up any browned bits, until the garlic is very fragrant. Turn up the heat to high, quickly add the rice and stir to coat, then pour in all of the broth and pesto – use some broth to rise out the pesto jar! Take a few minutes to bring this all to a boil, then turn off the heat, and carefully stir in all of the waiting chicken and juices that have collected. Cover the pot and bake for about 20 minutes until both the chicken and rice are fully cooked. If the lid doesn’t fit into the oven then foil as a cover works just fine.
Remove the pot from the oven, stir in the peas and cover again for about 5 minutes to allow the peas to warm through. Serve in large bowls with basil or lemon or even a fresh grating of Parmesan.
