- 500g chicken breast mini fillets
- 4 onions
- 4 garlic cloves
- 4 red peppers
- 2 chilli
- 4 vine tomatoes
- A pinch of saffron powder
- 2 chicken stock cube
- 4 tsp smoked paprika
- 400g risotto rice
- 2 lemon
- 2 tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 600ml boiling water
- Large ovenproof pan with a lid
- Measuring jug
- Frying pan
- 1.
Heat your oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. Fill your kettle and boil it. Pour 1 tbsp oil into a large, ovenproof pan (if your pan isn’t ovenproof see our tip at the end), and bring to a medium-high heat. Carefully add the chicken mini fillets to the hot pan and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Fry for 2-3 mins on each side, till golden brown. Lift the chicken out of the pan and onto a plate.
- 2.
While the chicken is cooking, prep the veg. Peel the onions and finely slice them. Peel the garlic cloves and crush them. Halve the peppers and scoop out the seeds and white pith. Slice the peppers into thin strips. Halve the chilli, scraping out the seeds and white bits for less heat, and finely chop it. Roughly chop the tomatoes.
- 3.
Reduce the heat under the pan you used to cook the chicken to medium, and add an extra 1 tbsp oil. Slide in the chopped onions, peppers and chilli, along with 2 tsp smoked paprika and a pinch of salt and pepper. Fry for 5 mins, stirring occasionally, till the veg have just softened.
- 4.
Fill a jug with 600ml boiling water and crumble in the chicken stock cube. Add a pinch of saffron powder and stir to dissolve.
- 5.
Stir the garlic into the veg and cook for 1 min. Tip in the rice and stir to mix. Cook for 2 mins, till the rice starts to make a popping sound. Stir the tomatoes into the pan.
- 6.
Pour the saffron stock into the pan and stir well. Nestle the chicken into the rice. Pop a lid on the pan, or use foil to cover it. Slide into the oven. Cook for 25 mins, till the rice has absorbed the liquid.
- 7.
While the rice is cooking, halve the lemon. Pop a clean frying pan on a medium-high heat and add 1 tsp oil. When the pan is hot, add the lemon halves, cut-side down. Cook for 4-5 mins, till caramelised. Lift out of the pan and onto a plate.
- 8.
Give the chicken and rice a stir, taste and add more salt or pepper if needed. Divide between a couple of warm bowls and serve with the caramelised lemon on the side, or squeezed over the top.
- Tip
Pan not ovenproof?
Not to worry – just stir together the veg, rice and stock, then pour them into a large casserole or baking dish. Nestle in the chicken, cover with a lid or foil and bake as directed.