Lemon Chicken & Rice in one pot

Here's a perfect dinner dish! Everything is cooked together in the oven, so just one pot to clean. It does take a little longer than some might manage for a weeknight - count on about an hour in the oven, and some prep time before that. I haven't tried it in the crock-pot but I'm sure that would work too. The recipe, with few alterations, is from Fay Ripley's book called Fay's Family Food and it's the first thing I'm trying from it.

Lemon Chicken & Rice in one pot
Serves 4

4 chicken legs (or thighs, or breasts - whatever you want)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp chopped garlic
140 g bacon, chopped
280 g brown rice
700 ml water
1 chicken stock cube
zest and juice from 1 lemon
250 g broad breans, frozen
a few sprigs of fresh thyme

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.

Start by heating the oil in a large oven-proof pot (that you have a lid for). Brown the chicken slighly, on both sides. Remove from the pot. Fry the bacon and onion for a few minutes on medium heat. Add the garlic and keep frying it's it's fragrant, but definitely don't let it burn. Add the rice and stir well to cover with the oil.

Add the water, stock cube, lemon zest, lemon juice, broad beans and thyme. Bring to a boil. Add the chicken back to the pot, cover with the lid, and cook in the pre-heated oven for about 50-60 minutes. The chicken should be very tender at this point, and the rice should be soft.

Serve. We didn't eat anything else with it, but I imagine a little crème fraîche would have been nice, perhaps with some mashed-in feta cheese to zing it up a notch.