Lemon Chicken and Rice Pilaf
Seared chicken breast and basmati rice cooked together in one skillet with garlic, paprika and cumin, then lifted at the end with fresh lemon juice and parsley. A high-protein one-pan dinner.
- Total
- 51 min
- Prep 12 · Cook 34 · Rest 5
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Searing · Absorption rice
- Savory
- One pan
Instructions
-
Pat the 180 g Chicken breast dry, season both sides with 0.25 tsp salt and 0.25 tsp black pepper. Halve the 0.5 onion and slice thinly, mince the 2 garlic cloves, dice the 0.5 bell pepper and 0.5 zucchini into 1.5 cm pieces, halve the 6 cherry tomatoes, and zest then juice the 0.5 lemon.
~12 min
Drying the chicken surface prevents steam so the meat browns instead of stewing, and pre-salting seasons it through.
-
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high until it shimmers. Sear the Chicken breast 4 minutes per side until golden and just cooked through (74°C/165°F). Transfer to a plate and set aside.
~8 min
Searing at high heat triggers Maillard browning, building the savory crust and fond that flavor the rice.
Searing Get the pan shimmering hot and leave the chicken undisturbed until it releases easily; moving it too early tears the crust and loses the fond.
-
Lower the heat to medium. Add the sliced onion to the same skillet and cook 5 minutes until softened, scraping up the browned bits. Add the minced garlic, 0.5 tsp paprika, 0.25 tsp cumin and 0.25 tsp oregano and stir 45 seconds until fragrant.
~5 min
Blooming spices in hot oil dissolves their fat-soluble aromas, making paprika and cumin taste fuller than if added later.
-
Stir in the 80 g basmati rice with 0.25 tsp salt, then pour in 160 ml water. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook on low 12 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.
~12 min
The absorption method lets rice soak up exactly the seasoned liquid, so no flavor is poured down the drain.
If the rice is still firm when the water is gone, add 2 tbsp hot water, cover, and steam 3 more minutes off the heat instead of stirring.
Absorption rice Use a tight lid and low heat, and resist stirring; peek only when the time is up, since each peek releases the steam the rice needs.
-
While step 4 cooks
While the rice cooks, stir the 2 tbsp Greek yogurt with 1 tsp lemon juice and a pinch of salt in a small bowl to make a cool sauce.
~2 min
-
Uncover the skillet, lay the diced bell pepper, zucchini and cherry tomatoes on top of the rice, cover, and steam 6 minutes until the vegetables are just tender.
~6 min
Steaming the vegetables over the rice cooks them gently so they stay tender and don't turn to mush.
-
Slice the seared Chicken breast into 1 cm strips and nestle it over the rice and vegetables. Cover and warm 3 minutes until the chicken reaches 74°C/165°F.
~3 min
Returning the sliced chicken just long enough to reheat keeps it juicy rather than overcooking it dry.
-
Off the heat, stir in the lemon zest, 1 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley. Rest 5 minutes, then serve with the yogurt sauce spooned over.
~5 min
Adding lemon off the heat preserves its volatile citrus oils, which boiling would drive off and leave bitter.
Add the lemon juice only after the pan is off the heat: boiling it dulls the bright citrus note that lifts the paprika and cumin.