One Pan Rosemary Chicken, Dates and Rice

This chicken dish comes together in less than an hour and is the perfect combination of savoury and sweet to warm you up on the greyest of January days.

One pan meals are wonderful. There is the obvious fact that less dishes = less mess to clean up after dinner, but if you’re lucky there is also a significant amount of down time which is the case with this hearty chicken dinner!

Rosemary and chicken were meant to be together. Rosemary’s vegetal, woodsy with and citrus flavour balances the rich and savoury notes from this bone in skin on chicken. I chose to make this recipe with a whole chicken because I wanted to create something that had the ability to be budget friendly. Boneless skinless chicken breasts are around $30 for 4-5 breasts where I live which can make dining in seem really cost prohibitive. Fortunately whole chickens and packs of chicken legs or thighs are regularly much more affordable.

The best way to succeed with any recipe is to read all of the steps first then start your prep work (otherwise known as mise en place or mise for short). The mise for this recipe is quite simple and should take you less than 15 minutes.

If you need to butcher your chicken, this will be the first step. If using chicken legs they should be separated at the joint where the drumstick meets the thigh. The best way to determine where that is is by holding the leg with the drumstick in one hand and the thigh in the other and pushing those two parts together to see where the joint is. Once you have located the joint you can either use your kitchen shears or a sharp knife to cut straight through it. It should cut through without a lot of force so if it feels very challenging put down the knife or shears and try finding the joint again to make sure you have the right spot.

When purchasing dates you may be asking yourself, does it really matter if I buy Medjool? And my answer is – it depends. I love medjool dates because they are softer, sweeter and have deeper caramel and maple notes than other dates but it is not a deal breaker for this recipe that you have them. If you are using Noor dates I would recommend increasing the quantity to 7.

Once your prep is completed it’s time to get out your favourite deep sided pan (that you have a lid for!) and preheat it to medium. I chose a lower temperature than usual for a few reasons, I don’t want to risk over cooking the chicken as it is going to spend some time in the oven and I don’t want to risk the rosemary burning. When your pan is nice and hot you will add your oil and then the chicken, skin side down for 4-6 minutes. Don’t be tempted to lift the chicken early as that will make it more likely to stick to the pan and tear the skin. When the skin is cooked it will easily lift from the pan. When you have reached golden and crisp flip the chicken and cook for another 3-4 minutes remove from the pan and reserve on a plate. Your chicken will not be full cooked yet, but that’s okay! We will continue cooking it in the oven and this partial cooking method will prevent your chicken from becoming overcooked and drying out.

Once your chicken is out of the pan you will start sweating your shallots which will pick up the flavour of the fond (ie. caramelized bits from the chicken). Your garlic will be added when your shallots have already softened which will prevent it from burning.

In order to ensure all of the delicious fond will make it’s way into your dish we will deglaze the pan with some dry white wine.

A note on cooking with wine: In culinary school I had an instructor say to me ‘If you wouldn’t drink it you shouldn’t cook with it’. But I am not your boss, your mom, or going to judge you. So as long as it’s dry and unoaked – I say toss ‘er in! Why unoaked? While I think there is a time and a place for oaked white wines, the flavour is too bold for this dish. Additionally when cooking with wine the goal is to get the flavour without the residual alcohol or liquid. This is why we don’t typically add wine with the other liquid ingredients. Incorporating the wine first allows you to reduce it and control the flavour.

After the wine has reduce the dates, thyme and rice are added. This way we can slightly toast the rice which will add flavour and also thoroughly mix it with the aromatics. We will then add the broth/stock and nestle your chicken pieces back into the pan, increase the pan to high and bring to a simmer.

The hard work is done! Once you have reached a simmer all you have to do is put a lid on the pan and carefully move it to the oven! The gentle and even heat of the oven will finish the cooking process and you have time to clean up, scroll on tiktok, pet your dog, or whatever makes your heart sing!

Note: If you choose to use a whole chicken for this recipe it will need to be deconstructed first. Don’t be scared! As long as you have a sharp chef’s knife or a pair of kitchen shears you will be. Epicurious, Food & Wine and Serious Eats all have great tutorials for how this can be done.