Day 13. One Pot Lemon Chicken with Carrots and Rice

So comforting, this dish takes a little more time to cook but is well worth the flavor. Dutch oven one pot chicken with carrots, lemon zest and rice. The rice is cooked together with everything creating a casserole-like mixture and pure yumminess.

I love to cook one pot meals and a dutch oven is a perfect choice. This dish like many one pot meals, gets its flavor from browning the meat first. I’ll repeat myself — great flavor starts with browning your chicken!

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One Pot Lemon Chicken and Rice

Great comfort dish adapted from a recipe found on the Food Network Kitchen site.

Total Time 55 minutes

Equipment

• Dutch Oven

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 to 6 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 medium carrots, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped or 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp fresh oregano leaves, chopped or 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp finely grated Meyer Lemon zest
• 1 cup long-grain rice
• 4 cups chicken stock

Instructions

• Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in the dutch oven over medium-high heat. Toss the chicken with the paprika, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper in a large bowl. Place the chicken skin-side down in the skillet and cook undisturbed until the skin is browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip it over and brown the other side for another 3-4 minutes. Remove the chicken to a bowl and add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet.
• Add the onions stirring to scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook for 3 minutes and then add carrots and celery to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 4 to 5 minutes.
• Stir in the garlic, thyme, oregano, lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper and cook just until you begin to smell the garlic, about 1 minute. Stir in the rice and cook undisturbed until lightly toasted, about 2 minutes.
• Pour in the broth and stir to combine, then add the chicken thighs back to the pan with all the juices in the bowl, skin-side up. Bring the liquid to a boil then cover, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Remove the lid from the pan and broil until the chicken skin is crispy and golden, 2 to 3 minutes.