Baked Rice and Chicken with Lemon

Serves 2

It’s always satisfying when very little prep results in a flavoursome dish that’s essentially cooked itself. This is definitely one for lemon lovers. The rice and chicken is perfumed from the zest, and the slices are soft and a bit jammy, so if you really like lemon eat these with the chicken. If this doesn’t appeal, remove before serving.

I like this with fine green beans, but any green veg you like will work.

Ingredients:

150g brown basmati rice

2 lemons (zest of both, one sliced into 4-5 rounds, pips removed)

4-5 skin on, bone-in chicken thighs

600ml hot stock (vegetable or chicken, gluten/dairy-free as required)

Salt and Pepper

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 180c (fan).

Step 2: Spread the rice on the base of a deep baking dish, add the lemon zest and then the slices of lemon. Top the lemon slices with the chicken thighs. Season the skin with salt and pepper. Carefully pour the hot stock over the dish avoiding the top of the chicken.

Step 3: Bake in the oven for an hour. Remove when the stock is absorbed and the skin is crisp. Serve with green vegetables.