Chicken and Rice Bake

• total time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

⅓ cup lemon juice

3 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons sweet paprika

3 cloves of crushed garlic

6-8 bone in chicken thigh cutlets (skin off)

1 ¼ cups of dry/uncooked jasmine or basmati rice

1 zucchini

1 capsicum

½ red onion

¼ cup parsley

2 ½ cups hot salt reduced chicken stock

Other vegetables to try - chopped asparagus, frozen peas, broccoli florets, thinly sliced leeks.

Other flavours to try - chopped dill, basil, sundried tomatoes or a few dollops or pesto.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200C fanforced. Take a large stainless steel or cast iron baking tray or shallow dutch oven. A ceramic or glass dish will work but may have a slightly longer cooking time.

To the base of the dish add extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, paprika and crushed garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Add chicken pieces and toss to coat. Allow the chicken to marinade while you prepare the vegetables.

Finely dice onion. Chop zucchini and capsicum into similar 2cm sized pieces. Finely slice parsley.

Remove chicken from the dish onto a plate.

Wash rice in a fine sieve and add to the dish. Add chopped vegetables and parsley.

Add hot chicken stock and stir to combine. You may find it easy to heat the stock in a jug in the microwave or a small saucepan on the stove.

Add pieces of chicken back to the dish, arranging them to sit on top of the liquid/rice.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake for a further 30-40 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid and the chicken is golden and cooked through.

Serve with fresh parsley and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Enjoy!