Name: One-Pot Peruvian Green Chicken
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 2 cup cilantro (about 2 bunches from our grocery store); 1⁄3 cup feta; 3 garlic cloves; 2 tbsp lime juice (lemon will do in a pinch); 1⁄2 tsp salt; 1⁄2 tsp Dijon mustard; 1⁄2 tbsp aji amarillo (or other mild chili paste); 1⁄2 tsp honey; 1⁄2 tsp ground cumin; 1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil; 3.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs (weight is approximate so +/- 1 lb. will be fine with no recipie changes); 1 cup basmati rice; 2 carrots; 1 bell pepper; 1 small onion; 1 1⁄4 cup chicken broth; 2 tbsp avocado oil (or other oil with a higher smoke point – see note above); 1⁄2 cup Greek yogurt (optional but highly recommended; either full fat or nonfat works!); 1 avocado (optional but highly recommended); 1⁄2 cup cilantro (optional); 1 jalepeno (optional unless you’re my husband); 1 thinly sliced shallot or red onion (optional)

Ingredients

Green Sauce (AKA “Grass”)

2 cup cilantro (about 2 bunches from our grocery store)
1/3 cup feta
3 garlic cloves
2 tbsp lime juice (lemon will do in a pinch)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tbsp aji amarillo (or other mild chili paste)
1/2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Chicken & Rice

3.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs (weight is approximate so +/- 1 lb. will be fine with no recipie changes)
1 cup basmati rice
2 carrots
1 bell pepper
1 small onion
1 1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp avocado oil (or other oil with a higher smoke point – see note above)

Optional Toppings

1/2 cup Greek yogurt (optional but highly recommended; either full fat or nonfat works!)

1 avocado (optional but highly recommended)

1/2 cup cilantro (optional)

1 jalepeno (optional unless you’re my husband)

1 thinly sliced shallot or red onion (optional)

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Instructions

1. Brown the chicken thighs.

Coat a stainless steel pan with 1-2 tablespoons of avocado oil and preheat for about a minute, until the pan is uniformly hot. Do not skip this step – unless you want the chicken to stick to the pan. You could use a nonstick pan, but I like to get the pan really, really hot, which you shouldn’t do with a nonstick.

Pat the chicken dry (this helps with browning), salt it, then add to pan and sauté untouched for about five minutes on each side until both sides of the chicken have browned. The chicken will not yet be cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

Because this is a relatively large amount of chicken, I recommend doing this in two batches. You can work on the next steps while the chicken browns.

2. Make the green sauce.

First, make sure you wash the cilantro thoroughly (sometimes they grow it in sandy soil and it is THE WORST discovery to bite into your food covered in green sauce and get a mouthful of gritty sand).

Next, place all the green sauce ingredients (restated below) into a blender or food processor and blend just until smooth. Try not to blend more than needed so the cilantro doesn’t get too beat up:

2 cup cilantro (about 2 bunches from our grocery store)
1⁄3 cup feta
3 garlic cloves
2 tbsp lime juice (lemon will do in a pinch)
1⁄2 tsp salt
1⁄2 tsp Dijon mustard
1⁄2 tbsp aji amarillo (or other mild chili paste)
1⁄2 tsp honey
1⁄2 tsp ground cumin
1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil

3. Start the vegetable rice.

Dice your 1 onion, 2 carrots, and 1 bell pepper.

Once the chicken has finished browning, remove it from the pan but leave the fat. Reduce the heat to low-medium.

Add the onion and carrot into the chicken fat and let them soften under low-medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Then add the bell pepper and cook for another 1-2 minutes or so, until all vegetables are softened a bit.

4. Add the rice.

Add the 1 cup of basmati rice to the vegetables and stir to incorporate.

5. Finish cooking the chicken.

Add the 1 1/4 cup chicken broth to the rice and scrape up any remaining brown bits from the chicken. Add 1/2 cup of green sauce (save the rest to eat with the cooked chicken).

Stir well, place the chicken thighs on top of the rice and vegetable mixture. Turn up the heat so that the mixture boils. Once the liquid is boiling, reduce the heat to low and cover the pan.

Cook for 25 minutes on low heat.

7. Prepare the toppings.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the white sauce by mixing the 1/2 cup of greek yogurt with 1-2 tbsp of water to form a thin white sauce. Chop up any avocado, red onion, cilantro, etc. that you want as a topping.

8. Enjoy!

After 25 minutes of cooking, the rice should have absorbed the liquid and the chicken thighs should be cooked through.

I usually put it on the table as is, and let everyone “decorate” their chicken as much as possible. More fun for the kids.

Prep Time: 20
Cook Time: 25
Category: Dinner
Method: stovetop