Sunset Chicken and Rice
Make Winning 'Desperate Housewives, Desperate for Dinner' Dish
The combination of turmeric and tomato sauce gives this dish a deep orange glow. Converted rice cooks differently from regular long-grain rice. It's more forgiving in dishes like this, while long-grain rice can cook unevenly.
Tip for Browning the Chicken: Brown the chicken slowly and steadily. The chicken should be about half cooked at the end of browning. If the chicken is browning too fast, turn down the heat.
Ingredients
Cooking Directions
Cut the chicken breasts in half crosswise with a heavy knife. Blot the chicken pieces dry with paper towels and season them liberally with salt and pepper.
Heat the oil in a 12-inch wide dutch oven or flame-proof casserole over medium heat until rippling. Add the chicken to the pot, skin-side down. Cook, turning, until browned on all sides, about 15 minutes. Transfer the chicken pieces to a plate.
Spoon off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan. Add the onion, garlic and turmeric to the pot and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Stir in the white wine and bring to a boil, scraping up the brown bits that are stuck to the pan. Stir in the broth, tomato sauce, and bay leaf.
Return the chicken to the pot. Add the peas and pimientos, then the rice. Wiggle the pot by its handles to settle the rice into an even layer below the surface of the liquid. Bring to a boil, then adjust the heat so the liquid is barely simmering.
Cover the pot and cook until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes. Give everything a big stir, recover the pot and let stand 5 minutes before serving.
