Persian-Style Saffron Chicken Rice

by John Gregory-Smith, featured in The Greatest Traybake Cookbook Ever

Published by Michael Joseph

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Introduction

Perfumed with saffron and cardamom, with crispy chicken and fluffy rice, this is one of the most exquisite traybakes around. I was inspired by a stunning Persian dish, zereshk polo ba morgh, or saffron-roasted chicken with rice and barberries. The OG recipe is all cooked separately, the chicken in one pot, crispy rice (this is known as a tahdig) in another and barberries candied in sugar syrup in another. Mine has more of a laid-back throw-it-all-in-the-oven vibe to get those crispy edges of golden rice and succulent juicy chicken thighs. I love piling on the garnishes for colour and texture – more is more in my opinion, but feel free to scale back if I’ve gone a little overboard.

As featured in

The Greatest Traybake Cookbook Ever

Image of John Gregory-Smith's Persian-Style Chicken Rice — Photo by Martin Poole

Ingredients

Serves: 4

a pinch of saffron
2 tablespoons just-boiled water
4 cloves of garlic (peeled and crushed)
3 tablespoons tomato puree
2 tablespoons olive oil
juice of 1 orange
2 teaspoons ground coriander
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
500 millilitres hot chicken stock - from 1 stock cube
1 kilogram chicken thighs (skin on and bone in)
250 grams basmati rice
3 cardamom pods (bashed open)
a handful of barberries or pomegranate seeds
10 grams pistachios (roughly chopped)
a handful of coriander leaves
300 grams Greek yoghurt (I use 10% fat)
salt and pepper

Method

Persian-Style Saffron Chicken Rice is a guest recipe by John Gregory-Smith so we are not able to answer questions regarding this recipe

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/180ºC fan/gas 6. Put the saffron into a mixing bowl and add the just-boiled water. Stir and leave to infuse for a few minutes.
Add the garlic, tomato puree, olive oil, orange juice, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon and a very generous pinch of salt and pepper to the bowl with the saffron and mix it all into a paste.
Transfer half the saffron paste to the stock and whisk together. Tip the remaining saffron paste into a large mixing bowl, add the chicken and toss together.
Tip the rice into a 30x40cm roasting tin and pour over the stock. Add the cardamom pods and arrange the chicken over the top. Cover the tray with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and return to the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the chicken is golden and cooked through and the rice crispy on the top.
Garnish with the barberries or pomegranate seeds, pistachios and coriander leaves and serve immediately with yoghurt.