Italian Basil Chicken with Nutty Black Rice Pilaf

I have a deep appreciation for authentic Italian cooking. One of my closest friends at secondary school was Italian, and sleepovers at her house were always memorable—especially the breakfasts. I haven’t made it to Italy yet, but enjoying genuine Italian flavors feels like the next best thing.

I made Italian basil chicken served with black rice. The rice picked up extra flavor from a bit of pancetta fat—indulgent, but delicious.

Serves	3-4
Prep time	10 minutes
Cook time	50 minutes
Total time	1 hour
Meal type	Main Dish
Misc	Child Friendly, Gourmet, Serve Hot

INGREDIENTS

3–4 chicken thighs (oven cooked for 30 minutes in foil)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 yellow pepper, diced
3 tablespoons basil chicken passata (or 1 tin tomatoes, 6 basil leaves finely chopped, 1 tbsp tomato purée, black pepper)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
100g pancetta, diced

DIRECTIONS

Black Rice
1.
I cooked the black rice according to the package instructions. Typically this means soaking briefly, then simmering for about 35 minutes in a large pan. Drain, cool, and refrigerate until needed; it will keep up to 24 hours.
Italian Chicken
2.
Pan-fry the pancetta over medium heat until the fat renders and the pancetta is crisp. Remove the pancetta from the pan and discard roughly half of the fat; reserve the rest to toss with the rice before serving for extra flavor.
3.
In the remaining fat, sauté the chopped onion until soft and translucent.
4.
Add the diced pepper and cook until it softens. Stir in the garlic and cook for another 1–2 minutes until fragrant.
5.
Add the cooked chicken thighs and the passata (or the tomato-basil mix described above). Return the pancetta to the pan and simmer gently until the sauce is heated through and the flavors are combined.
6.
To serve, warm the black rice and toss it with a little of the reserved pancetta fat for flavor. Plate the rice, spoon the Italian basil chicken over it, and finish with extra tomato-basil sauce if desired.