Lemon Chicken and Rice Traybake with Spinach
- Savory
Chicken thighs roast over lemony rice until the edges caramelize and the grains soak up the juices, with spinach wilted in at the end. A hands-off one-pan dinner.
- Total
- 70 min
- Prep 15 · Cook 45 · Rest 10
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Zesting · Absorption rice
Instructions
-
Heat the oven to 200°C. Zest the lemon into a small bowl, then cut the lemon in half and squeeze 2 tbsp juice into the bowl with the zest.
~5 min
Zesting before juicing lets you capture the fragrant oils in the peel, which carry most of the lemon aroma and would be lost once the fruit is cut.
Zesting Zest only the yellow outer peel, stopping before the bitter white pith. A light touch with a fine grater releases fragrant oils without the acrid taste.
-
Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels and season all over with 1 tsp of the salt and the black pepper.
~4 min
A dry surface lets the skin crisp and brown in the oven instead of steaming in its own moisture.
-
Bring 500 ml water to a boil in a small saucepan.
~4 min
Hot water starts the rice cooking immediately and keeps the oven temperature steady, rather than cooling the tray while the grains slowly warm.
-
Spread the rice over the base of a large sheet pan and stir in the hot water, the lemon zest and juice, the olive oil and the remaining 0.5 tsp salt. Lay the chicken thighs skin-side up on top of the rice in a single layer.
~6 min
An even layer of rice cooks uniformly, and keeping the chicken above the liquid lets its juices drip down to flavor the grains while the skin browns.
Keep the chicken skin-side up and above the liquid line so it browns rather than steams; if your tray is crowded, use two trays so the rice cooks evenly.
Absorption rice Keep the rice in an even layer and the liquid just covering it; judge doneness by tender grains and a dry pan, adding hot water in splashes if they stay chalky.
-
Roast uncovered for 35 minutes, until the rice has absorbed the liquid and the chicken thighs are browned and reach 74°C at the thickest part. If the rice looks dry before the chicken is done, add 3 tbsp hot water and continue roasting.
~35 min
Uncovered roasting allows steam to escape so the skin crisps, while the rice absorbs the seasoned liquid and chicken juices below.
Rice absorbs at different rates depending on the pan: judge by the grains, not the clock, and add hot water in small splashes if they are still chalky when the chicken is ready.
Absorption rice Keep the rice in an even layer and the liquid just covering it; judge doneness by tender grains and a dry pan, adding hot water in splashes if they stay chalky.
-
Scatter the spinach over the tray, cover loosely with foil and let it stand for 10 minutes so the leaves wilt and the rice finishes steaming. Fluff the rice with a fork before serving.
~10 min
Residual heat trapped by the foil wilts the spinach gently and lets the rice finish absorbing liquid without scorching on the hot pan.
