Honey Roasted Chicken Thighs & Pilau Rice
The honey and soy create a lovely glaze on these chicken thighs and the fragrant, lightly spiced rice goes so well with it.
| Difficulty: | Easy | |
| Serves: | 4 - 6 |
| Ingredients |
|---|
| 60ml honey |
| 2 tbsp soy |
| 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice |
| 4 garlic cloves, crushed |
| 8 chicken thighs |
| 500g basmati rice |
| knob of butter |
| 1 red onion, peeled and diced |
| 6 cloves |
| 2 cinnamon sticks, optional |
| ½ tsp turmeric |
| 2 dried bay leaves |
| 700ml vegetable stock or water with a pinch of salt |
directions
Method
Heat oven to 200°C/180°C fan. In a large bowl, whisk together honey, soy, lemon juice and garlic. Add the chicken thighs to the mix and turn in the marinade to coat each piece well. Arrange on parchment paper–lined baking tray and roast in the hot oven for 30-35 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked through.
While the chicken is roasting, prepare the rice by pouring it into a sieve and giving it a good wash under a running cold tap. Place a heavy-bottomed pot over a medium-low heat, add the butter and onion and cook for around 5 minutes until softened. Add the spices and bay leaves and cook for a couple more minutes. The spices will give a wonderful fragrant flavour to the rice. Add the drained rice and stir until the grains are coated in the butter before adding in the stock (or salted water). Bring to the boil and then cover with a tight-fitting lid. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting and leave to cook for 10 minutes before turning off the heat. Don’t remove the lid; just leave the rice to continue cooking in the pan for about 5 minutes until you’re ready to serve. The rice should have absorbed all the water and will just need fluffing up with a fork. Remember the whole spices (cinnamon stick and bay leaves) are not for eating but you can leave them in for presentation.
TRY THIS: Serve up leftover spiced rice with a piece of smoked mackerel and a poached egg for a yummy kedgeree breakfast the next day.
