Herby Chicken Rice

Ingredients

• 600g chicken thigh fillets, cut into chunks
• 1 tbsp garlic‑infused oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 300g long‑grain rice
• 700ml low‑salt chicken stock
• 100g frozen peas
• 1 medium carrot, diced
• 3 tbsp chopped spring onion green tops
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander (optional)
• 30g sunflower seeds (optional, toasted for crunch)
• Crusty bread, to serve
• Dressed green salad, to serve

Method

1. Toss the chicken chunks with the smoked paprika, garlic-infused oil, lemon juice, salt and a good grind of pepper. Season generously — thigh meat can take it, and this is your only seasoning moment for the protein. Leave to sit at room temperature for 5–10 minutes while you get everything else ready.
2. Bloom the paprika as the chicken hits the pan: heat a large, lidded stainless or cast-iron pan over medium-high until properly hot, then brown the chicken in two batches, single layer, 2–3 minutes each side until deeply golden at the edges but not cooked through. Don't crowd the pan — all at once and the chicken steams in its own water instead of building those mahogany edges. Lift onto a plate. The garlic-infused oil carries garlic flavour without solids, so there's nothing here to burn — but keep the heat lively, not smoking.
3. Tip the rinsed rice straight into the same pan, scraping up any sticky paprika fond from the chicken — that's pure flavour and it's about to season every grain. Toast the rice for 60 seconds, stirring, until the grains smell nutty and turn translucent at the edges.
4. Pour in the chicken stock, add the diced carrot, and bring to a gentle simmer. Taste the liquid now — it should taste properly seasoned, like a soup you'd happily eat. Adjust with a pinch more salt if it's flat; the rice will only taste as good as the liquid it drinks.
5. Return the chicken and any resting juices to the pan, drop the heat to low, cover tightly and cook for 15 minutes. After 10 minutes, scatter the frozen peas over the surface — don't stir them in, just let them steam on top — and replace the lid for the final 5 minutes.
6. Check the rice has drunk up the liquid and the chicken has hit 75°C internal. Lift off the heat and let it stand, lid on, for 5 minutes — this firms the grains and finishes the chicken in its own steam. Skip the rest and the rice will be wet at the bottom.
7. Fluff the rice through with a fork, folding the chicken chunks back among the grains. Taste one more time and adjust the salt — rice always needs more than you think.
8. Pile onto plates or a warm platter, scatter generously with the spring onion tops, parsley and coriander, then shower the toasted sunflower seeds over the top for crunch.