A rich and busy dish that takes an hour and a half to prepare, plus another 30 minutes baking. As time-consuming as this is, none of the steps are complicated. But, because of the work, plan on making 8 servings.
To do this right, a 12" cast-iron skillet is required (a 10" skillet for 6 servings). I do not recommend teflon pans.
Special Equipment Needed:
12" Cast Iron Skillet (Lodge brand sells for about $35 - a great pan to have)
Micro-plane zester
Ingredients:
8 Chicken Thighs, skin-on and bone
1 Fennel Bulb, with fronds
1 Large Yellow Onion
2 Lemons
1 Serrano Pepper
2 to 3C Arborio Rice (as desired; a volume decision)
1 to 2 cartons, Chicken Broth (depending on rice)
Chardonnay or Sherry wine (optional)
Parmesan Cheese, grated
Garlic
Olive Oil
Sugar
The unusual ingredient in this dish is Fennel. This is a strange-looking plant -- somewhat like a celery root, with delicate greens. Raw, the plant tastes like licorice -- but when cooked, it takes on a milder flavor. It is being used for color and texture, and it stands up to cooking much better than an onion. Even if you don't like licorice, you should try this dish.
Steps:
1. Heat cast-iron to medium, add a drizzle of Olive Oil
2. Generously Salt and Pepper chicken, both sides; don't be shy.
3.
Add chicken thighs, skin-side-down.
Cook until browned (6 to 8 min).
While browning, don't mess with the chicken; let them sit in the pan, undisturbed. When they release from the pan, and are suitably browned, turn and brown the other side, another 5 or-so minutes. The chicken
will be finished in a later step.
While the chicken is browning, prepare the vegetables.
4. Cut the top and bottom off of the Fennel; peel the outer layer and discard. Reserve the fronds.
Cut the bulb in half, top-to-bottom, then roughly chop fennel into long, 1/4" strips
Pull off the delicate fronds, discarding the coarse stems. Make a nice pile of them - a bowl full; you probably won't need the entire plant.
5. Roughly slice 1 large yellow onion, similar to the Fennel.
6. Boldly chop 5 or 6 garlic cloves into thick slices; reserve in a small bowl
7. Roughly seed and chop 1 Serrano Pepper; reserve
8. Using a micro-plane, zest two lemons and reserve.
9. Slice the lemons into 8 or 10 slices, enough for a slice or two for each chicken thigh
I happen to like peeling the lemons, using the knife to cut off the rinds, but others like the look unpeeled.
Continue with the Chicken and Sauteing Vegetables:
10. Remove the browned, but under-cooked chicken and in a separate dish, put them in a 200-degree oven to keep warm. From the pan, drain excess oil, leaving the pan wet.
11. In the cast-iron, add rough-cut Fennel.
Salt, and a sprinkle of sugar.
Cook on medium heat for about 4 minutes, then add the onions.
Cook until the vegetables caramelize and brown. Keep turning, 8 to 10 or so minutes.
Just as the Fennel and Onions start to brown, add the Serrano to the party, then garlic. Cook until all carmelized. When done, remove vegetables and place in a bowl. Wipe the pan.
12. Remove the chicken. Heat oven to 375F
13. In a separate sauce pan, warm the chicken broth.
Rice:
Here is the time-consuming step:
You will be browning the rice, making a risotto. This is easy, but labor-intensive.
How much rice? As much as you would like. Illustrated below is about 2C (not measured), but when I made the dish for this recipe, we wanted more. The second time I made this dish, I covered the entire pan, with some depth. Naturally, the more rice, the more chicken broth is required.
14. Brown the rice: Add a (tiny) splash of Olive Oil into the medium-hot cast-iron pan. Immediately stir the rice, covering the kernels with the lightest coating of oil -- each kernel should have a thin glaze of oil, adding a touch more oil, as needed, depending on the amount of rice. You want the rice mostly dry. It is okay to wing this.
Constantly stir until it begins to brown (10 minutes?). Be careful not to burn -- you are toasting the grains. The pan will be mostly dry while browning.
15. Once browned, add a cup or two of wine for flavor. Allow most of it to evaporate under moderate heat.
16. Once toasted, dip a cup or two of warm Chicken broth, and mix with the rice -- enough to wet the rice.
Stir constantly until liquid is nearly gone.
Add another cup and continue stirring. Again, let most of the moisture evaporate.
Adjust the heat up or down to keep the mixture active.
Keep adding broth and stirring. You are not boiling the rice -- it should not be "swimming."
If you run out of broth, use water, or more wine. (Depending on the amount of rice, 2 cartons of broth might be needed, or use 1 carton and more water for a lighter, less-rich dish...)
* The goal is to coax the starches out of the rice -- this takes time and elbow-work -- expect a half-an-hour. Keep adding broth and stirring.
* The rice is done when you can look at a kernel and see a soft, translucent halo around the grain. Right at this point, the starch should become liquid and a classic risotto will be born. Cook until al-dente' -- cooked, but with still a firmness -- a "bite" to the kernels.
Remove from heat.
When the Rice is done:
17. Mix in the vegetables (fennel and onion mixture).
Add lemon-zest.
Add half of the reserved fronds.
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18. Layer chicken on top of the rice, skin-side-up. Crowd the pan.
Layer lemon-slices on top of chicken.
You will notice this picture only shows six chicken thighs. A mistake. For a 12" pan, I should have used 8 chicken thighs. A crowded pan holds-in the moisture.
19. Slide the pan into the 375F oven and finish for another 30 minutes or so, until thermometer reads 155/160F near the bone. About half-way through, sprinkle remaining fronds as decoration.
20. For a classic risotto, remove the rice to a separate bowl and let rest for a few minutes, cooling slightly. Stir-in grated Parmesan cheese, to taste.
Serving:
Plate a large spoonful of rice, with Chicken on top. Serve a sweet melon or fruit - in this case cantaloupe, along with other colour. This dish looks amazing.
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