Chicken & Rice Pilaf Casserole

Total Time: 55 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 3 chicken, each cut into 10 pieces (4 pounds)
• salt
• fresh ground pepper
• 2 -4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced lemons, zest of
• 1 tablespoon minced, fresh oregano leaves
• 3 onions, diced
• 2 red bell peppers, deribbed and diced
• 4 1/2 cups basmati rice (or other long-grain rice)
• 3 quarts chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups water

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• 2 season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
• 3 heat a large skillet.
• 4 when hot, add enough of the oil to cover the bottom of the pan.
• 5 heat the oil to almost smoking.
• 6 add the chicken pieces in batches and brown over medium-high heat until golden, about 5 minutes per side, adding more oil as needed.
• 7 as the chicken browns, transfer the finished pieces to 2 large baking pans.
• 8 drizzle liberally with lemon juice.
• 9 if necessary, carefully drain some of the oil from the skillet, leaving about 1 or 2 tablespoons in the pan.
• 10 reheat the oil, and add the lemon zest, oregano and onions, scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
• 11 saute the onions for 5 minutes, then add the bell peppers and saute until softened, about 5 minutes longer.
• 12 add the rice and cook, stirring, until all of the grains are coated with oil, about 1 minute.
• 13 stir in the broth and water and bring to a boil.
• 14 (if using unsalted broth, season with salt to taste at this point or the cooked rice will be bland.) pour the broth and rice mixture evenly over the chicken.
• 15 cover tightly and bake until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
• 16 remove from oven and let rest, still covered, at least 10 minutes before serving.