Spanish Chicken and Rice

One pot meals at like heaven for weeknight dinners. Less stuff to clean up and easy to just throw everything together, layering in the flavors for a delicious, hearty meal. And this Spanish Chicken and Rice is one amazing dinner. Chicken and chourico get amped up with garlic, onions, peppers and seasoning, then cook with rice for a lot of flavor and a filling meal that gets done in less than an hour and is perfect for a cold winter evening. We all loved this dish and it will definitely be in my dinner rotation. It's definitely a full meal, but we added bread and a salad for a more rounded dinner.

This was a fortuitous find when I found some chicken thighs in the freezer, was wondering what to make for dinner and when I logged into Pinterest, this recipe from Karen Burns posted on Great British Chefs was right at the top of the page. Perfect. You can play with the heat intensity to taste. I used regular Spanish smoke paprika, but you can choose something hotter. I also used chourico since my grocery store didn't have chorizo, just this Venezuelan counterpart. I left out the olives because we're not fans and the fresh thyme because I didn't have it. I'm glad I got more chourico than necessary--I put the extra in the freezer so I can make this again soon. It's a fairly healthy dish and you really can't beat the one-pot wonder dinner. I'm a sucker for anything that creates less dishes.

Spanish Chicken and Rice

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons olive oil
8 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
5-6 ounces chorizo or chourico sausage
4 cloves garlic
2 red peppers
1 large onion
1 cup long grain white rice
2 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken pieces and brown for 2-3 minutes on each side. While chicken browns, peel the outer skin off the chourico and slice into 1/4 inch medallions.

Add chourico to pot with chicken and continue to saute for another 2 minutes.

Mince the garlic, deseed and slice in the peppers into strips, and peel and dice the onion.

Add vegetables to pot and saute until vegetables are softened and sausage releases some oil.

Rinse the rice under cold water and drain. Add to pot and stir to coat with the oil.

Add chicken stock, paprika, thyme, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes, when the chicken is cooked through to tender, rice is soft and liquid is absorbed.

To serve, fluff the rice and place pot on the table, family-style, scooping into bowls.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess

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