Lemon Chicken and Rice

Back to school again. Luc: ninth grade, high school sophomore year? No — he started high school last year as a freshman. So he's — wait. He started BR Magnet last fall, 2018, which was ninth grade. It's now August 2018 — no, Year 3 started March 2018, so late August 2018 would be week... Let me get this right. Luc is entering ninth grade. He entered BR Magnet last fall for eighth grade? No. According to the bio, he started Thibodaux High School and was in 6th grade in 2016. Year 1 had him starting 6th grade (middle school). So by fall 2018: 8th grade was last year, now he's... entering 9th grade. Yes. Freshman at BR Magnet High School. First year of high school.

Okay. Luc starts ninth grade. Freshman. The big leagues. He's taller than me now — when did that happen? One day he was carrying crawfish sacks at ten, and now he's looking down at me with those Danielle eyes and that Joey chin and I'm looking up at my son and the looking up is metaphorical and also literal and both sting in different ways.

Made a big pot of jambalaya for back-to-school — the brown kind, andouille and chicken, the Trinity in the base, the rice soaking up the stock. Jambalaya is the all-in-one meal, the family-in-a-pot, the dish that feeds everyone at once and asks nothing in return except a clean bowl and maybe seconds. Rémy had thirds. Some things never change. Some things shouldn't.

The jambalaya is the version I make when I need the pot to do the heavy lifting — when life is moving fast and I want something that feeds the room without a lot of fuss. This Lemon Chicken and Rice follows that same logic: one pan, real stock, chicken that gets tender in the broth, and rice that soaks it all up the way good rice should. It’s not jambalaya, but it’s cut from the same cloth — the kind of meal you make when a milestone week calls for something warm and grounding and real. Rémy will still have thirds.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lemon, zested and juiced (about 3 tablespoons juice)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Instructions

Season the chicken. In a bowl, toss chicken pieces with 1/2 teaspoon salt, the black pepper, smoked paprika, and half the lemon zest until evenly coated.
Brown the chicken. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken in a single layer and cook without moving for 3 to 4 minutes until golden. Flip and cook another 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate — it does not need to be cooked through yet.
Build the base. Reduce heat to medium and add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and thyme and cook 1 minute more, stirring constantly, until fragrant.
Add rice and liquid. Stir the rice into the onion mixture to coat each grain. Pour in the chicken broth and the lemon juice, then add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir once to combine and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Simmer together. Nestle the browned chicken pieces into the rice and broth, cover the pan tightly, and reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 to 22 minutes without lifting the lid, until the rice is tender and has absorbed the liquid and the chicken is cooked through to 165°F.
Rest and finish. Remove from heat and let stand, still covered, for 5 minutes. Uncover, fluff the rice gently with a fork, and scatter the remaining lemon zest and the fresh parsley over the top. Serve directly from the pan.

Nutrition (per serving)

Lemon Chicken and Rice — The One-Pot That Holds Everyone Together