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I've been making this dish for years but for some reason it tasted the best it ever has last night. I had to ask myself why; I did two things different than I usually do. I used a whole chicken leaving the skin on and fried it in bacon grease. Who knew...
Ingredients
1 whole pastured chicken, cut into pieces (reserve the backs and neck for future stock making)
2 tablespoons bacon fat
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup organic basmati rice
1 3/4 -2 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/3 cup sliced green olives
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Preparation
Preheat the over to 375 degrees. Cut the chicken into pieces reserving the backs and necks for future stock making. Season the pieces with salt and pepper. Melt the bacon fat in a large cast iron skillet or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Fry the chicken skin side down, about 6 minutes or until nice and golden. Turn and fry about 3 minutes. Remove to a plate.
Reduce the heat to medium and saute the onions for about 3-4 minutes, add the garlic and the peppers and saute for 2-3 minutes more or until just tender. Stir in the rice and stir until just coated. Add the stock and turmeric and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Put the chicken back in the pan along with any juices and nestle within the rice mixture.
Put the lid on the pan and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, stir in the peas and olives; cover with the lid and let set for 5 minutes to heat them through.