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Spiced chicken & date pilaf

Spiced chicken & date pilaf

A simple yet wonderfully fragrant baked rice dish with hints of winter spice and a sticky sweetness from the dates. Stylish and contemporary, use our Cast Iron casserole to cook the perfect fluffy rice. 

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HealthyHigh protein1 of your 5 a day
  • Serves4
  • CourseMain meal
  • Prepare10 mins
  • Cook45 mins
  • Total time55 mins
  • Plusstanding

Please note, we take every care to ensure the product, allergen and recipe information displayed is correct. However, should a product be unavailable, alternatives may be displayed and/or a substitution provided. If you have an allergy or intolerance, please always check the product label before use.

Ingredients

  • 250g white basmati rice
  • 30g unsalted butter
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove/s garlic, finely chopped
  • 380g pack Chicken Breast Fillets, cut into bitesized chunks
  • 1 tbsp Cooks' Ingredients Ras El Hanout
  • 4 Medjool Dates, pitted and chopped
  • 1 tsp ground allspice
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 500ml fresh chicken stock
  • 260g pack spinach
  • Roughly chopped dill and lemon wedges, to serve

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200ÂșC, gas mark 6. Rinse the rice, then soak in a bowl of cold water until needed. Put the butter in a wide, shallow casserole dish (or roasting tin) and melt in the oven for 1 minute. Add the onion and garlic to the dish, then cook for 4 minutes, until slightly softened. Meanwhile, put the chicken chunks in a bowl, rub in the ras el hanout and season.

  2. Add the dates and spices to the onion mixture. Drain the rice and add to the dish, stirring to coat in the butter and spices; add the stock. Cover with foil or a lid and bake for 30 minutes, then use a fork to fluff up the rice. Stir through the spinach, then nestle the chicken into the rice and cook, uncovered, for a further 10 minutes until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through, no pink meat remains and the juices run clear

  3. Cover with the foil again and stand for 5-10 minutes before serving with a scattering of dill and lemon wedges for squeezing.

Cook’s tip

Simple swaps 

Make it vegetarian

Replace the chicken with a can of drained chickpeas and use vegetable stock. Serve with natural yogurt or a plant-based alternative.

Nutritional

Typical values per serving when made using specific products in recipe

Energy

2,146kJ/ 508kcals

Fat

8.5g

Saturated Fat

4.5g

Carbohydrates

71g

Sugars

20g

Fibre

5.8g

Protein

34g

Salt

1.2g

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