red or green?: oven roasted chicken, chorizo & rice with corn

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

oven roasted chicken, chorizo & rice with corn

this is one of those perfect dishes...easy to make, easy to find ingredients, nice for a casual supper, elegant enough for company...can be doubled or tripled (you just need a couple of skillets)...and tastes even better the next day. there is something so comforting about chicken and rice and this version, with sprouted brown rice, organic chicken and loads of vegetables, is delicious and healthy comfort food! what could be better than that?

oven roasted chicken, chorizo & rice with corn
2 cups organic vegetable stock (homemade or store bought)
pinch ground saffron
pinch pure new mexican ground red chile powder, medium
1/4 cup chopped italian parsley, plus 2 tbsp for garnish
4 organic chicken legs
4 bone in organic chicken thighs (with skin)
coarse sea salt
freshly cracked black pepper
large pinch spanish paprika
extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lb mexican chorizo, (remove casing)
1/ 2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large heirloom tomato, chopped
1 1/2 cups brown rice (organic sprouted brown rice, if possible)
10 oz bag organic frozen corn (or fresh corn if in season)
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

preheat oven to 400 degrees. in a large sauce, bring vegetable stock and next 3 ingredients to a low simmer. add a pinch each sea salt and ground black pepper.

meanwhile, season chicken with salt, pepper and paprika. heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium high heat. (if you are lucky enough to have a well seasoned cast iron skillet, by all means use it. my mom gave me hers a few months ago, it is perfect for this dish). add chicken and brown on both sides (should take 4-5 minutes per side.) remove and place in a rimmed dish (like a pie dish) to capture any juice. add chorizo and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, for 3-4 minutes or until cooked through. add onion, garlic and tomatoes and saute for 3-4 minutes until the onion softens. add broth and rice and bring to a boil. cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. stir in corn and a pinch each or sea salt and ground pepper. top rice mixture with chicken. place in preheated oven and cook for 45 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed into rice. remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining parsley. serve hot or warm.