I know I promised you my homemade chicken feed recipe today, but I'm not in the mood for it. I'm in the mood for chicken and rice.
A few weeks ago, when we visited our friends in Macon, we arrived after a painfully long and grueling journey to a dinner of chicken and rice. And raw milk.
I can't remember ever feeling so satisfied.
Why?
Was it in the simplicity?
The ease?
The soul reviving properties that only chicken can bring?
I still don't know. What I do know is that since that meal at Alex and Lauren's, I've made this dish approximately seventy times. I can't help myself. It brings me inner carnivore, grain-eating peace.
Chicken and Rice
You will need:
– 1 whole roaster chicken
– 1 1/2 cups organic rice (I have used basmati, jasmine, and short-grain brown with great results)
– 1/2 cup organic lentils
– 4 1/2 cups homemade chicken stock (or water)
– Fresh herbs
– Sea salt and pepper
– High-quality butter
Step One: Roast (like this) or boil the chicken (such as when making stock) until the chicken is cooked through. Remove to a plate and let cool. I've found one of the easiest ways to cook the chicken is simply to throw it into a stock pot with about eight cups of water for a few hours.
Step Two: Shred the chicken from the bones. You'll be left with a large plate of succulent chicken. Try not to eat too much while you complete the next steps.
Step Three: In a large saucepan or rice cooker, combine the rice, lentils, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about thirty minutes.
Step Four: Once the rice has cooked, scoop it into a large bowl (you can be jealous of my 1960s avocado color bowl if you want…I got it at a garage sale). Add in the cooked and shredded chicken.
Step Five: Sprinkle the chicken and rice generously with freshly chopped herbs (such as rosemary, thyme, basil, tarragon, and parsley). Then, give it a generous (GENEROUS, I SAY!) dollop of butter. Like a quarter-cup or so. Lastly, sprinkle it with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
I know, I know. It's a super plain-Jane recipe. There is no POP. No pizazz. No fireworks.
But I'm okay with that sometimes. Sometimes, I don't want paprika and cumin. Sometimes, I want simplicity. I want plain-Jane. I want butter. And salt. And the basics of meat and grains.
Naturally, I serve it alongside some delicious summer vegetables, such as roasted asparagus. So fantastic and easy.
After all the long days we've been putting in on the Beatha Fonn (did you hear about our new farm's name?) a large meal like this has been really popular with the farm hands (that is, Georgia, Stuart, and my father-in-law). Isn't there a saying about that? Feeding your farm hands well?
Regardless, it's still fantastic. I hope you can enjoy spectacular minimalism of this dish as much as I do.
For other great meal ideas, no matter what your dietary restrictions, check out the meal planning service I use: Real Plans.
Kelly Gilmore-Taylor
June 13, 2013 at 1:49 amIt would be good with cumin, cilantro and a squeeze of lemon or lime! hmmmm now my wheels are turning and my mouth is WATERING! Looks yummy and very comforting too 🙂
Deanna Martin Owens
June 13, 2013 at 8:25 amYum..now I know what to fix for dinner tonight. Today I am headed to my local dairy for fresh butter, cream and milk so this will be perfect. 🙂
Amanda
June 13, 2013 at 9:22 amThis sounds really similar to a recipe my husband and I eat every week! It’s a chicken and rice bowl but with the addition of some vegetables. So good! Thanks for sharing! http://www.theladyokieblog.com/2013/04/skillet-meal-chicken-rice-bowl.html
Rachael
July 1, 2013 at 11:30 amI’m a bit new to the nourishing traditions way of eating. So, I’m curious, do you soak your rice before cooking, as it is a grain. Or is it easy enough on the digestive system to eat without soaking?
Shaye Elliott
July 8, 2013 at 11:20 pmI don’t soak rice, simply because I don’t have a problem digesting it and it is very low in phytates. I do cook my rice in mineral-rich bone broth – so GOOD!
Tiffany
November 20, 2013 at 4:09 pmTrying this chicken and rice, as I type this comment… looks delicious… BTW…love the old school serving bowl!!!!
[email protected]
January 11, 2014 at 12:20 amHi Shaye,
I made this tonight for dinner and let me tell you after a big day of grocery shopping with 3 kids this is just what the doctor ordered. It was simple and delicious. It is now going to be one of my go to recipes, I loved the simplicity, I added some crushed garlic while cooking the rice but everything else was just as you recommended, and yes the big chunk of butter on top is a must, thanks for a great recipe!
Margie DeCaro
September 14, 2014 at 7:57 pmLooking forward to trying this. My guys (and girls) love your Korean Beef recipe, so hopefully this’ll be a keeper for them too. Btw, love the bowl. Pyrex is awesome, here on the east coast it’s super expensive at antique flea markets and such, so I always snag it at yard sales if I see it. It’s simple, functional and usually pretty in a retro funky sorta way.
Heather
November 6, 2014 at 2:47 pmThis has become a staple in our house… I keep a big bowl of it sans the chicken in the fridge. (I’m vegetarian.) The kids and hubby add the chicken or eat it without… so super yummy! Serious comfort food!
Judith Adair
December 7, 2014 at 10:02 amI have loved a simple chicken and rice dish (soup, too) since childhood. It reminds me of winter, a warm kitchen, Mother humming as she cooked. It also reminds me of fresh, hot soup lovingly fed to me by my mother when I was sick. Loving, nurturing memories. I am making a small pot of chicken and rice today for me and my dog, Boo. It is his favorite dog food. 😉 Thanks for allowing me to walk down memory lane.
JC
December 15, 2016 at 9:02 amI love your bowl. I have the same one. Also, I totally made this last night without knowing it was a thing. I added some frozen veggies in too, because I have an affinity for green food.