Middle Eastern chicken and rice

Rice

1 ½ cups	Long grain rice (Main)
4 cups	Chicken stock (Main)
1 ½ tsp	Salt
½ tsp	Smoked paprika

Chicken

85 g	Pine nuts
85 g	Pistachio nuts, (no shells)
2 Tbsp	Extra virgin olive oil
1 large	Onion, chopped
4	Spring onions, sliced thickly on an angle
4	Chicken breasts (Main)
1 serving	Salt and pepper
½ tsp	Ground cinnamon
1	Lemon, cut in segments, pips removed
6	Dried apricots, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp	Chopped Italian parsley

Directions

1. Using a saucepan with a lid combine rice, stock, salt and paprika and boil, uncovered, until steam holes appear in rice and grains on surface appear dry, about 8 minutes. Cover pan and continue cooking rice over very low heat for 7 minutes. Remove pan from heat, leaving the lid on, and let rice stand for five 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large frying over medium-high heat toast pine nuts and pistachios, stirring often, until pine nuts begin to turn golden. Remove from pan and set aside.
3. Add oil to frying pan and sauté onion and spring onion until soft and transparent. While onion is cooking, slice chicken in thin strips then season with salt and pepper and a light sprinkling of cinnamon. Add chicken strips to onion and sauté for 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Squeeze juice from lemon segments into pan then drop segments in with the chicken.
4. Remove from heat and add toasted nuts, apricots and cooked rice (fluffing with a fork before adding). To serve, add parsley, mix all ingredients together and pile onto a large, shallow platter.

See more of Simon's winter entertaining ideas

• Mushroom soup with walnut croûtes
• Naked spinach and ricotta dumplings