Baked Rice With Chicken and Mushrooms

Name: Baked Rice With Chicken and Mushrooms
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 2 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch chunks; Salt and pepper; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 large onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups); 1 large sprig thyme, plus 1 teaspoon freshly chopped leaves; 1 bay leaf; 1 cup white wine; 2 cups basmati rice, soaked for 20 minutes, rinsed and drained; 8 ounces king trumpet mushrooms, or a mixture of mushrooms, sliced 1/4-inch thick; 4 cups hot chicken broth; 3 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1 cup frozen peas, cooked for 2 minutes in salted water (optional); 2 small garlic cloves, smashed to a paste with a little salt; 3 tablespoons roughly chopped parsley

By David Tanis

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Rating: 4(2,966)
Comments: Read comments

This warming, savory, hearty baked rice casserole was originally meant to be an Indian-style biriyani, but my larder was stocked with Gallic ingredients: mushrooms, thyme, garlic, parsley. I switched gears, heading in a French direction. It’s a great dish for feeding a crowd and also reheats beautifully, so it’s worth making the entire batch. Serve with a crisp green salad, juicy wilted spinach or mustard greens, or all-season frozen peas.

Featured in: Rice and Chicken With a French Accent

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

2pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch chunks
Salt and pepper
2tablespoons olive oil
1large onion, diced (about 1½ cups)
1large sprig thyme, plus 1 teaspoon freshly chopped leaves
1bay leaf
1cup white wine
2cups basmati rice, soaked for 20 minutes, rinsed and drained
8ounces king trumpet mushrooms, or a mixture of mushrooms, sliced ¼-inch thick
4cups hot chicken broth
3tablespoons unsalted butter
1cup frozen peas, cooked for 2 minutes in salted water (optional)
2small garlic cloves, smashed to a paste with a little salt
3tablespoons roughly chopped parsley

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Put chicken pieces on a baking sheet and season generously with salt and pepper. Set aside. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Step 2
Pour olive oil into a 4-quart enamelware Dutch oven or similar heavy pot and set over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, until nicely browned, 8 to 10 minutes, then season with salt. Add chicken, thyme sprig and bay leaf, and continue to cook, stirring, for 2 minutes more.
Step 3
Add wine and simmer briskly until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
Step 4
Add rice and a large handful of mushrooms and stir to combine. (Reserve most of the mushrooms for garnish.) Add broth and bring to a simmer. Check broth for seasoning and adjust.
Step 5
Cover pot and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat. Transfer pot to oven and bake for 20 minutes. Finally, remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes off heat.
Step 6
While rice is baking, sauté remaining mushrooms: Melt butter in a large skillet over high heat. Add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook, rapidly stirring, until they have softened and browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add peas, if using, and heat through. Turn off heat, then add reserved chopped thyme, the garlic and the parsley. Toss to coat well.
Step 7
Fluff rice, then top with sautéed mushrooms and serve.

Ratings

4 out of 5

2,966 user ratings

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Comments

Mike7 years ago

Is there a step missing here? Why does the chicken start out on a "baking sheet" that is never actually put in the oven?

Dan7 years ago

I have made this twice now. The first time was exactly as written. All of us loved the flavors in the dish but the texture was terrible. The rice disintegrated to the point of mushiness. It felt like bad Thanksgiving dressing.

The second time I cut the rice, wine and stock in half and instead of soaking the rice I just rinsed it in several changes of water for a minute or so to take off some of the outer starch. The texture of the rice was far superior. Much better.

Mei7 years ago

Indistinguishable from risotto but easier to make. As such, I would add some grated Parmesan at the end for more flavor. The baking sheet step is unnecessary if you season the chicken in the cutting board. I like one pot meals so I would sauté the mushrooms, garlic and peas in the Dutch oven first, set aside and then start the recipe as written- saving a pan to clean after.

Neen1 month ago

The baking sheet step was completely unnecessary and created more work. There was entirely too much rice called for in this recipe and fluffy it turned it mushy. Looking at the completed recipe photo, I think it can be concluded that the writer may have meant 1 cup uncooked rice = 2 cups cooked rice. Had I read the comments prior to preparing this, I would have made just one batch of rice and skipped the whole rinsing part too. Husband agreed, thought it tasty enough to try again.

Michelle4 months ago

There was too much broth to rice. My rice came out to a glob. Not too appetizing

Edith7 months ago

Having read other cooks' comments, I added more seasonings to the chicken. I sauteed the onion and chicken as directed, added the wine and let it cook down, but did the actual cooking in the instant pot. 1C rice + 1.5C broth, 4 minutes on pressure. Let rest for 2 minutes, quick release, add peas and stir, cover w/towel and put the lid back on. Let rest 3 - 4 more minutes. Rice is perfect. Still needed some flavor so I added some lime juice. Next time will add other veggies, more seasonings.

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