Nested Chicken in Herby Green Rice

I created this recipe the way I create most of my meals… by thinking “What do we need to use up in the fridge”. This time I had some parsley and kale about to get to wilty to eat. Pair that with some frozen chricken thighs I had defrosted and some pantry staples. Bing bang boom, we had a delicious dinner! I was inspired by arroz con pollo, a latin american dish where you cook the chicken breasts in with the rice. I thought about calling this “Arroz con Pesto”, but figured that could just be a little nickname for it 🙂

Nested Chicken in Herby Green Rice

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Ingredients

  • Pesto

  • 1 bunch parsley

  • 4 kale leaves, stems removed

  • 3 cloves garlic

  • 1/3 cup cashews

  • 2 T. capers

  • 1 T. nutritional yeast

  • 1-2 T. olive oil

  • Black pep

  • Chicken

  • 5 chicken thighs - bone in, skin on

  • 1 tsp. Paprika

  • 1 tsp. Garlic powder

  • Salt

  • Pepper

  • Rice

  • 1.5 - 2 T. Olive oil

  • 1/2 Onion - sliced thinly

  • 1 cup rice

  • 2 cups broth or water

  • 7-8 Cherry or grape tomatoes

  • Parm/Feta/Either or Both

  • 1/3 cup cashews

Instructions

  1. Prep the pesto. Add all pesto ingredients to a food processor, mix until fully combined and crumbly. Set aside.

  2. Rinse and pat chicken dry. Season with salt, pepper, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. paprika.

  3. Heat 1-2 T. olive oil in a large skillet (stainless steel or cast iron is best here, and we are going to broil this pan later).

  4. Arrange the chicky t's skin side down in the skillet. Cook for 5 minutes - rotating them halfway to ensure even browning. Flip skin side up and cook another 5 minutes. Remove to a platter - they will finish cooking later.

  5. In the remaining oil, add your onion. Cook until soft - about 2-3 minutes.

  6. Add the rice, stir to coat in the coat and cook 2-3 minutes. Add in the pesto and broth. You may need to break up the pesto a bit, stir until well combined. Bring up to a simmer (should happen pretty quick).

  7. Nestle the chicken skin side up on top of the simmering rice, top with cherry tomatoes and cover. Cook covered and undisturbed for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn off the heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Use this time to heat up that broiler - nobody wants soggy chicken skin!

  8. Remove the lid from the sauce pan, top with remaining 1/3 cup chopped cashews, feta, parm (either or both) and broil on middle rack for 5 minutes.

  9. Serve warm and enjoy!

Notes

It may seem like a lot of ingredients, but this dinner comes together quickly.

To make this a one pot meal, you could opt for store bought pesto – but it's easy to make and comes out super yummy every time.

  • Pesto

  • 1 bunch parsley

  • 4 kale leaves, stems removed

  • 3 cloves garlic

  • 1/3 cup cashews

  • 2 T. capers

  • 1 T. nutritional yeast

  • 1-2 T. olive oil

  • Black pep

  • Chicken

  • 5 chicken thighs - bone in, skin on

  • 1 tsp. Paprika

  • 1 tsp. Garlic powder

  • Salt

  • Pepper

  • Rice

  • 1.5 - 2 T. Olive oil

  • 1/2 Onion - sliced thinly

  • 1 cup rice

  • 2 cups broth or water

  • 7-8 Cherry or grape tomatoes

  • Parm/Feta/Either or Both

  • 1/3 cup cashews

Recipe Notes

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