Chicken Cacciatore Bake with Rice



Featured Ingredients

 Today's featured ingredients are a trifecta of flavors:  Diced Tomatoes, White Beans, Chicken Broth

Ah, the one pot meal.  One of my favorites after a long day. There is something magical about throwing a bunch of ingredients into a Le Creuset dish and having it yield a protein, a starch and some vegetables a mere 35 minutes later.

As an aside, My 5 Quart Le Creuset dish, is the best cooking investment I ever made, next to my stand mixer - and I got it on sale at discount store. It's worth its weight in gold.  I'm not sure why, maybe the way it distributes heat, that food cooked in it, just ends up tasting better compared to any other pot I've used.  I also love that it works as well on my range top and transfers safely to the oven.

This is a recipe I adapted from a torn out page of an old Working Mother magazine.  It is only recently I took literally hundreds and hundreds of torn pages that I have been saving in file folders and organized them in a 3 inch binder.  Those recipes that I like, and would want make again, go into another "test kitchen" binder.   This recipe will definitely find a home in the latter binder.
Chicken Cacciatore Bake with Rice

2 tbsp olive oil
1.75 lbs bone in skinless chicken thighs (5 pieces) - Thighs are great as they don't dry out like breasts
1 medium onion chopped (1 cup)
3 small cloves garlic - finely chopped
3 celery hearts sliced in 1/2 inch pieces (1 cup)
3 carrots sliced in 1/2 inch pieces (1 cup)
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup uncooked white or brown rice (not quick cooking)
1 can 14.5 oz. chicken broth
1 can 14.5 oz. diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 can 15.5 oz. white beans (rinsed and drained)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 375F

Heat 1 tbsp oil in an oven safe sauce pot over medium high heat.  Sear chicken on both sides to get some golden color -- about 3 - 4 minutes per side. Once a "fond" or crust begins to develop the chicken won't stick.  Remove chicken from pan set aside.

Heat additional tbsp of oil - Add onions, celery, carrot, garlic, and cook for several minutes until onions are soft.  Lower temperature to medium and add herbs and rice and stir until everything is coated in oil.  Sautee for a couple minutes to "toast" the rice.

Pour in broth, tomatoes and beans and gently combine.  Add chicken back to pot and bring pot to a simmer.  Cover pot with lid.  Transfer to oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until liquid is almost all absorbed and bubbly, rice is tender and chicken is cooked to 180F.  Sprinkle with fresh parsley.

Scoop and Serve.  Clean one pot.

Chicken Cacciatore Bake with Rice