There’s nothing that beats crispy chicken thighs with crunchy rice which has soaked up all of the drippings.
We spent two years serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in a rural Romanian village. Unsurprisingly, it had no supermarket. Families cultivated much of the food that they consumed. Living in an apartment without a place to grow vegetables or raise animals, we relied on the generosity of others or whatever was in stock at the corner bodega. It carried cured meats and cheese and bread, so we indulged in many a sandwich.
The bodega also usually had frozen whole chickens, rice and carrots. We became virtuosos at roasting chicken on a bed of rice and carrots such that they soak up all those glorious chicken drippings. This comfort food kept us warm on frigid winter nights as we huddled next to the ceramic wood burning stove. Even now, after returning stateside with access to almost any ingredient and a forced air furnace, chicken and rice still soothes our souls. The very best element? That crunchy rice that forms on the edge of the pan. It’s the stuff of which dreams are made.
Crispy Chicken Thighs with Crunchy Rice and Carrots
Ingredients
- One tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of sweet Hungarian-style paprika
- One teaspoon of kosher salt
- One teaspoon of black pepper
- Four chicken thighs, bone-in and with skin
- Three cloves of garlic, pressed
- One red onion, chopped
- One carrot, peeled and chopped
- One celery stalk, chopped
- One cup of rice
- 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
- Parsley, for garnish
Directions
Heat oil in a cast-iron skillet. Preheat oven to 400°F.
In a small bowl, mix paprika, salt and pepper. Use mixture to coat chicken thighs. Cook chicken thighs for four minutes per side. Remove chicken thighs from skillet.
Add garlic, onion, carrot and celery to skillet. Cook until onion becomes translucent. Stir in rice for two minutes. Pour in chicken broth. Bring to a simmer.
Return chicken thighs to skillet, skin-side up, and return to a simmer.
Place skillet into oven. Bake between 35 to 45 minutes until rice is done. (But if the chicken finishes before the rice is done, remove the chicken, and cover it with tin foil.)
Turn on broiler, and broil until chicken skin becomes crispy.
Remove from oven. Let sit for five minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley.
29 Responses
Made this a couple of times. Simple but very satisfying.
Thanks, Chris. Happy to hear it.
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