3 1/2 pounds chicken — cut into pieces
salt and pepper 2 large red bell peppers
2 medium onions
2 ounces sun-dried tomatoes, oil-packed
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large garlic cloves — chopped
5 ounces chorizo, skinned — cut into 1/2″ slices
1 cup brown basmati rice
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon hot paprika
1 teaspoon fresh herbs — chopped
1/2 cup pitted black olives — halved
1/2 large orange, cut into 1/2″ wedges — peel on
Start off by seasoning the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Next, slice the red peppers in half and remove the seeds and pith, then slice each half into six strips. Likewise, peel the onion and slice into strips of approximately the same size. The dried tomatoes should be drained, wiped dry with paper towels and then cut into 1/2″ pieces.
Now heat 2 T. olive oil in the casserole, and when it is fairly hot, add the chicken pieces – 2 or 3 at a time – and brown them to a nutty golden color on both sides. As they brown, remove them to a plate lines with paper towels, using a slotted spoon. Next add a little more oil to the casserole, with the heat slightly higher than medium. As soon as the oil is hot, add the onion and peppers and allow them to brown a little at the edges, moving them around from timt to time, for about 5 minutes.
After that add the garlic, chorizo, and dried tomatoes and toss these around for a minute or two until the garlic is pale golden and the chorizo has taken on some color. Next, stir in the rice, and when the grains have a good coating of oil, add the stock, wine, tomato paste, and paprika. As soon as everything has reached a simmer, turn the heat down to a gentle simmer. Add a little more seasoning, then place the chicken gently on top of everything (it’s important to keep the rice down in the liquid). Finally, sprinkle the herbs over the chicken pieces and scatter the olives and wedges of orange in among them.
Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook over the gentlest possible heat for about 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until the rice is cooked but still retains a little bite. Alternatively, cook in a preheated oven at 350 for 1 hour.
Serves 4.
NOTE: “The delicious combination of chicken and rice, olives and peppers is typical of all the regions of the western Mediterranean, but to my mind this Spanish version, with the addition of spicy chorizo sausage and a hint of paprika, beats the lot. My interpretation of it also uses dried tomatoes preserved in oil to give it even more character. This recipe will provide a complete supper for 4 from the same pot – it needs nothing to accompany it!”