Greek Chicken with Lemon Rice, Spinach, Feta and Grape Tomatoes

I adore one-pot meals, so knew I just had to try a recipe I saw on a site called Julia's Album.  The combination of ingredients sounded good and the picture of it looked delicious.  It's always a struggle to know how to share a recipe I try as I so rarely make it exactly the way it is written.

Today I decided to leave the recipe in it's original form, and simply tell you what I changed.  I had a package of chicken breasts to use up, so used them instead of thighs.  I cut them in larger chunks, not huge, but bigger than bite-size.  I also had 5 ounces of sliced mushrooms that needed using up, so sautéed them along with the grape tomatoes and garlic.  That meant a little longer cooking time during that step. Last but not least, I was out of white rice, so used what I had - Lundberg Wild Blend Rice. As you cook the rice separately, you are free to use whatever you have on hand.

All-in-all I am super happy with how it turned out.  It had a great flavor, and cooking the individual elements separately - especially the rice - then gently combing at the end left all the colors bright.  I am going to try this technique other one-pot rice and pasta dishes.  I think it will keep the colors of the vegetables in particular from washing out.

Enjoy! And if you make it let me know what you think.

= = = = 

Greek Chicken with Lemon Rice, Spinach, Feta and Grape Tomatoes
4 Servings

Ingredients -

Chicken -

1.5 lbs                      Skinless boneless chicken thighs (I used chicken breast)
1 tsp                         Dried oregano
1 tsp                         Paprika
¼ tsp                        Salt
¼ tsp                        Red pepper flakes
2 T                           Extra virgin olive oil

Greek lemon rice -

1 T                           Extra virgin olive oil
8 oz                         Grape tomatoes sliced in half
5 Cloves                  Garlic minced
1 tsp                         Dried oregano
¼ tsp                        Salt
5 oz                          Fresh spinach chopped
3 T                           Freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 C                           Cooked jasmine rice Or whatever you have in your pantry
15 oz                       Chickpeas (canned) rinsed and drained

Feta cheese mixture -

6 oz                         Feta cheese diced into small cubes

1 T                           Extra virgin olive oil
1 T                           Fresh squeezed lemon juice
¼ tsp                        Dried oregano
2 T                           Chopped fresh oregano. optional
Gresh oregano for garnish

Instructions -

Season the chicken thighs (I used chicken breast cut in large chunks) with dried oregano, paprika, salt, and red pepper flakes. Heat an empty, high-sided, heavy-bottomed skillet (such as a cast-iron or stainless steel pan) over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the chicken. Cook the chicken on medium heat for 5 minutes on one side, undisturbed. If the skillet gets too hot (depending on your stovetop), reduce heat to low-medium. You don't want the juices from the chicken to be burnt, as you will use those juices to flavor the rice. Flip the chicken over, reduce heat to low-medium, and cook for about 5 more minutes or longer on the other side, without moving it, until it's cooked through. The meat thermometer should register 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part of the chicken. Remove the chicken from the skillet.

Add half of the halved grape tomatoes (I added them all) , minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, ¼ teaspoon of salt, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil (I added mushrooms here) to the same, now empty, skillet. Cook the tomatoes on medium heat for about 2 minutes until they soften and release juices. (I cooked longer because of the mushrooms I added - but you could saute the mushrooms first first, then add the rest of the ingredients to cook like above.) 

Stir in fresh spinach until it wilts. Add the cooked rice and drained chickpeas. Add 3 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice and the remaining uncooked halved grape tomatoes (I cooked them all together - my preference). Reheat on medium heat, stirring everything to combine. Add 1 extra tablespoon of olive oil if you like.

In a medium bowl, combine cubed Feta cheese with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon of dried oregano (add more to taste), 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh oregano (if using). Mix so that the herbs and olive oil coat the cubed Feta cheese.

Mix half of the feta cheese mixture into the skillet with lemon rice. Add sliced cooked chicken to the skillet with rice and reheat on medium heat. Top with the remaining feta mixture. Sprinkle fresh oregano on top (optional). Season with salt and black pepper, to taste. Serve.