Pimento Chicken

Pan-seared chicken breasts served over saffron-scented rice studded with mushrooms, sweet pimentos, and bright green peas. This is a complete dinner cooked in one skillet, and the saffron gives the rice a gorgeous golden color and floral aroma you won’t get from turmeric.

The chicken cooks first to get a good sear, then the rice simmers in chicken broth and white wine right in the same pan, picking up all those caramelized bits from the meat. That wine-and-saffron broth is where all the magic happens.

Stir the peas and pimentos in at the very end so they stay vibrant and don’t turn to mush.

Kitchen Tips

• Pound the chicken breasts to even thickness before cooking so they don’t dry out on the thin end
• Use real saffron threads, not powder. Toast them briefly in the dry pan before adding liquid to bloom the flavor
• Let the rice sit covered off the heat for 5 minutes after cooking. It finishes steaming and the grains separate better
• A dry white wine like Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio works best here

Variations

• Swap chicken for shrimp, adding them in the last 5 minutes of rice cooking
• Use roasted red peppers instead of pimentos for a smokier flavor
• Add artichoke hearts with the peas for a Mediterranean twist