Some people love to burn scented candles in Winter, but I prefer the scent of a dutch oven simmering with something delicious! I grew up eating endless variations of one-pot Italian and Portuguese chicken and rice recipes that seemed to appear magically out of the pantry. I can still smell the warm, delicious comfort filling the house. My Mediterranean Chicken and Rice is creamy, briny one-pot dish that embraces my favorite Mediterranean flavors like zesty lemon, tangy kalamata olive and sweet sun-dried tomato. If you are looking for warm, hearty respite from the cold, this recipe is for you!
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Mediterranean Chicken and Rice
What You’ll Need
Scale
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3.5 lb bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (5–6 thighs)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 2 cups long grain white rice
- 1 32oz box chicken Broth
- 4 oz crumbled feta cheese, for serving
- 1 cup roughly chopped parsley, for serving
- 1 lemon, for serving
What You’ll Do
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- In a large dutch oven (5.5 quart) over medium-high heat add 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Let oil heat up for about 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, toss chicken thighs with salt, pepper, oregano and chili flakes until coated.
- Add chicken thighs to the pot, skin side down for 5 minutes, or until they release from the bottom of the pot.
- Flip chicken thighs over to cook the other side, for 5 minutes.
- Remove chicken from pot, and set aside.
- Add yellow onion and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to get the chicken fats into the onion. Stir occasionally until translucent, about 5-7 minutes
- Add garlic, stirring constantly until garlic is fragrant, but not burned, about 1 minute
- Add olives and sun-dried tomatoes to pot, stirring, for 1 minute.
- Add rice and chicken broth, stir to combine and cover pot for about 5 minutes until it comes to boil.
- Add the cooked chicken back into the dutch oven and cover the pot.
- Turn heat off on stove, and place the pot, covered, in the oven.
- Bake the chicken and rice for 30-35 min, until the rice is fully cooked and creamy.
- Serve with with fresh parsley and lemon juice and crumbled feta.
Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 4 days, or frozen and reheated up to 3 months.
