This mouth-watering chicken pilaf is a great way to use up leftovers from your Sunday roast dinner. Chicken thighs are a great choice if you’re looking for a cheap option otherwise chicken breast or leftover roast chicken would work just as good. It only takes 27 mins to cook and is a great speedy supper that the whole family can enjoy. With only 400g per portion this chicken pilaf is healthy and low in calories too. Serve as a hearty lunch or light dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 red and 1 white onion, peeled and sliced
- 1 red chilli, halved, deseeded and finely sliced
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- Good pinch of ground cinnamon
- 200g basmati rice
- 600ml hot chicken stock
- 16 ready-to-eat dried apricots, halved
- 4 or 6 cooked chicken thighs,skinned and boned(200-300g/7-10oz)
- 2-3 carrots, diced and steamed
- 1 leek, finely sliced
- Zest and juice of 1 orange, optional
- Handful of parsley leaves
- A few pistachios
Method
Heat oil in a frying pan. Fry the onion for 7 mins, until softened and browned. Spoon out a third of the onion and set aside for garnish.
Add the chilli, garlic, cumin seeds and cinnamon to the pan, cook for a min, then add the rice and stir well. Add the chicken stock and apricots. Bring to the boil, turn the heat down, cover and simmer for 10-15 mins, until the stock is absorbed. Don’t stir during cooking.
Add the shredded chicken and veg. Stir in orange zest and juice, if using. Warm through for 5 mins.
Serve topped with the crispy onions, parsley leaves and nuts.
Top tip for making Chicken pilaf
Use any stock reserved from cooking the chicken.
