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Chicken and bacon pilaf

With just a little fried onion and some stock you can transform boiled rice into a really tasty dish. The chicken and bacon makes this a substantial meal. If you have some fresh herbs, stir them in for extra flavour.

Serves 4–6

PREPARATION TIME

10 minutes

COOKING TIME

30–35 minutes

4 tbsp olive oil

300g (11oz) streaky bacon (in the piece or about 10 rashers), rind removed and cut into 2cm (¾in) dice

25g (1oz) butter

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

300g (11oz) basmati rice

800ml (1 pint 9fl oz) chicken stock

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

200g (7oz) frozen peas

300g (11oz) cooked chicken (or see tip), cut into bite-sized pieces

* Pour the olive oil into a large saucepan on a medium heat and, when hot, add the bacon and fry for 6–8 minutes or until the fat has rendered and the bacon is golden and crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and set aside, retaining any oil left in the pan.

* Melt the butter in the saucepan with the bacon fat, then add the onion and cook for 6–8 minutes or until soft and lightly browned.

* Next, add the rice and stock, season with salt and pepper, then bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 14 minutes or until the rice is soft and fluffy. Stir in the peas, fried bacon and chicken and cook for a further minute, then taste for seasoning and serve.

Rachel’s tips

Butchers and some supermarkets will sell bacon ‘in the piece’. This is often better for cooking with than rashers, because rather than thin pieces you can get nice juicy chunks.

If you don’t have leftover cooked chicken, then just poach some in the stock – it hardly takes any time. Cut an uncooked skinless chicken breast into bite-sized pieces, bring the stock to the boil in a saucepan, then season with salt and pepper and add the chicken to the pan. Bring back up to the boil and poach for about 5 minutes or until the chicken is opaque all the way through. Remove the chicken, then use the stock to cook the rice as above, before stirring in the cooked chicken with the peas and bacon.