Easy roast chicken and rice recipe

Our easy roast chicken and rice is a brilliant alternative to a classic roast chicken, spatchcocked and served over risotto rice. 

Cooking the chicken over the rice means it absorbs all those beautiful roasting juices, for a flavour-packed dish. The herby oil is an extra step that adds so much flavour to this simple dish. Fresh herbs are an easy way to brighten up any recipe. We’ve used a combination of mint, coriander and parsley to partner with our chicken. Having a few herb plants at home means you can always have them on hand to throw into recipes, without having to re-buy each time. Spatchcocking a chicken increases surface area which means less cooking time and more flavour absorption. It’s easier than you might think and a great trick to have up your sleeve.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 500g risotto rice, we used Carnaroli
• 2 bay leaves
• 800ml chicken stock
• 200ml white wine
• 1.5kg whole free-range chicken, spatchcocked

For the herb oil:

• 150ml olive oil
• bunch parsley
• ½ bunch mint
• ½ bunch coriander
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• 2 garlic cloves

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Spatchcock the chicken (see tips), season and rub all over with some cooking oil, and set aside .
2. In a large, oven-proof casserole pan fry the onion in the olive oil over a medium heat for 10mins, until beginning to soften. 
3. Add the rice and continue to stir for 2mins. Add the bay leaves, chicken stock, white wine and season.
4. Put the chicken on top of the rice and move to the oven. Cook for around 1hr 30mins, until the chicken is cooked-through and golden brown.
5. While the chicken is cooking make the herb oil by blitzing everything in a food processor together until well combined. 
6. Serve the chicken with the rice and herb oil.

Top tip for making this easy roast chicken and rice

If you do not want to spatchcock your own chicken, you can buy bone-in joints instead and simply place these over the rice in step 4 instead.

How do I spatchcock a chicken?

Check out our spatchcock chicken recipe for a full guide. For spatchcocking for the barbecue, see sticky BBQ chicken.

You might also like...

• Spatchcock chicken
• Roast chicken recipe
• Chicken recipes