Here's the recipe I tried once long ago, pre-blogging, that turned out not to be very good because of mushroom grit. Thankfully, I was much more thorough in my dried mushroom preparation this time around and was able to focus on the food rather than the dirt!
adapted from Cooking Club of America
1 c hot water
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
4 oz. ham, diced
1 medium tomato, seeded, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 1/2 c Arborio rice
3 c reduced-sodium chicken stock
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
Place mushrooms in small bowl; add hot water. Let stand 20 minutes; strain through cheesecloth or coffee filter, reserving liquid. Rinse mushrooms to remove grit.
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
4 oz. ham, diced
1 medium tomato, seeded, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 1/2 c Arborio rice
3 c reduced-sodium chicken stock
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
Place mushrooms in small bowl; add hot water. Let stand 20 minutes; strain through cheesecloth or coffee filter, reserving liquid. Rinse mushrooms to remove grit.
Heat oven to 425°F. Heat oil in Dutch oven until hot. Add chicken; cook over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes or until browned on all sides. Place on plate.
Sticking to 2-3 minutes per the recipe instructions didn't make my chicken very brown. I might've added my chicken to the pot before it was hot enough.
Add bell peppers and onion to casserole; reduce heat to medium. Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until vegetables soften. Stir in ham, tomato, garlic, parsley and paprika; cook 2 minutes.
Return chicken and any accumulated juices to the pot; add mushrooms. Stir in rice; cook 1 minute.
Stir in broth, 1/2 cup of the reserved mushroom soaking liquid, salt and pepper; discard remaining mushroom soaking liquid or save for another use. (Risotto can be made to this point up to 8 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; boil 5 minutes, without stirring.
Place casserole in oven; bake, uncovered, 15 to 20 minutes or until rice is tender and chicken is no longer pink in center.
Remove from oven. Cover; let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Chicken and rice are generally a good combination anyway but throw in some smoked paprika and ham, you're going to want seconds. This dish has very nice ratios of each ingredient. While one pound of chicken seemed a little skimpy to me, it turned out to be just right. I used 1/4 of an ounce more mushrooms than the recipe called for, but they weren't overwhelming. While not a necessity, this is really good when splashed with something to give it a little spicy kick such as some Louisiana Hot Sauce or Chipotle Tabasco.
I'm always concerned that a rice dish like this is going to be too soupy or worse, really dry, but it worked out perfectly for me with the minimum cooking time at each step. The rice was tender but not mushy and the entire dish had a nice consistency. Because it's cooked in a Dutch oven, it seems like it's going to take a really long time going in, but dinner is on the table fairly quick, in about an hour, hour and fifteen minutes. If you practice your mise en place, it goes along at a decent clip allowing some time to clean up as you go.
It's so much better too when it doesn't feel like you're eating sand! Definitely rinse your reconstituted mushrooms -- it's worth the extra couple minutes.
Cost:
- dried porcini mushrooms: $3.99
- chicken thighs: $1.50
- red bell pepper: $1.13
- onion: $0.24
- ham: $1.71
- tomato: $0.23
- garlic: $0.25
- parsley: $0.15
- arborio rice: $2.50
- chicken stock: $0.48
TOTAL: $12.18. While the recipe says you'll get four servings (which would be $3.05 each), I found those servings would be enormous. I yielded about six servings coming out at $2.03 each.
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