407. Chicken Carmelized Onion and Rice

Most of the chicken I cook is either made over the stove or in the oven.

This chicken uses both the stove and the oven. First, it is seared to have a golden surface, and then it is transported to the oven to complete its cooking.
In the leftover pan dripping from the chicken, the rice is cooked.
A fair amount of onion is thinly sliced and fried until golden and caramelized, before it is added to the rice.
All in all, this is a meal in itself, needing only a simple salad and perhaps some jajeek spooned over it.
The acts of (1) caramelizing the onion, (2) cooking the rice in the chicken drippings, and (3) the addition of tangy barberries makes this rice extra-special and well worth the additional effort.

Ingredients:

2-3 onions, sliced very thin
1/4 cup olive oil
10 pc cloves
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp Arabic mixed spice
1 chicken, quartered
1/4 cup barberries (zarshk)
1 1/2 cups rice
2 tsp sugar
salt and pepper
1/3 cup parsley, chopped

Method:

First, over medium-high heat saute the onion in the olive oil until golden and caramelized (a good 15 to 20 minutes).
Spoon the onion out of the pot and set aside.
Add the cardamom, cloves, and Arabic spice to the remaining oil in the same pot.
Salt and pepper the chicken quarters (about one flat teaspoon salt and a good grinding of pepper) and add them skin side down.
Sear for a good five minutes, turn over, and sear again.
Remove the chicken from the pot, place in an oven-proof dish, and bake uncovered at 400F for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, make the rice.
To the pan drippings of the same pot, add the rinsed and drained rice, the rinsed and drained barberries, and the caramelized onions.
Add a teaspoon of salt and two teaspoons of sugar. Stir well.
Add enough boiled water just to cover the rice by a finger's width, cover immediately and reduce heat to low.
Rice will be ready within half an hour.
To serve, stir the chopped parsley into the cooked rice and immediately spoon into the serving dish.
Arrange the cooked chicken pieces over the rice and serve.

صحة و عافية