This dish sounds simple and it is, but it has a few special touches that make it SO good. I’m still thinking about this meal days after I made it, and I want to make it again.
It starts with seasoned chicken strips (I marinated overnight so they would have a lot of flavor) roasted with peppers and onions, served over fluffy seasoned rice (I used basmati), and topped with crispy bits of feta, a lemon champagne vinegar vinaigrette, and some fresh herbs. So so yummy.
I have never made crispy feta before, but my kids and I love parmesan crisps and make those all the time, and it is the same concept. You just put little blobs of feta in a skillet, let them melt and brown a bit, and drop the browned up bits onto a plate to cool. They are messy when hot but as soon as they cool they firm back up. I loved the little pops of crunchy, salty feta with this dish.
Roasted Chicken and Peppers with Rice, Crispy Feta and Lemon Vinaigrette
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1 package chicken tenders about 1 lb
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- black pepper
- 1 packet true lemon or juice of half a lemon
For the rice:
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 2 cups water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- seasonings of your choice I used garlic powder, paprika, onion powder and cumin
For the peppers/onions:
- 3 bell peppers sliced
- 1 onion sliced
- 1 jalapeno seeded and sliced (optional)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
For the vinaigrette:
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice or a few packets of true lemon
- 1 tbsp champagne vinegar
- 2 tsp honey
- chopped fresh herbs I used cilantro
For the feta:
- 1 8 oz package feta cheese
Instructions
For the chicken/peppers:
- The day or morning before, combine the chicken with the marinade ingredients and mix well. Let sit overnight in the fridge or at least a few hours. Heat the oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with foil. Add the chicken to one side of the pan and the sliced peppers/onions to the other. Drizzle the peppers/onions with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss well. Drizzle a little oil on the chicken and toss too.
- Place in the oven and bake for about 30-45 minutes, until the chicken is cooked and the peppers and onions have some nice browning. If your chicken is done, but you'd like more browning on the veggies, just remove the chicken and continue cooking the veggies a bit longer.
For the rice:
- Heat the oil in a sauce pan with a lid over medium heat. Add the rice and seasonings and 1/2 tsp salt and cook, stirring occasionally for a few minutes. Add the water, stir, cover and reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes or according to your rice package. Allow to sit for 5 minutes then fluff with a fork.
For the feta:
- Heat a skillet over medium heat until hot. Add the feta pieces and let them melt and fry. It will look like a goopy mess, but be patient. After a minute or two, use a spatula to kind of flip over the blob if you can, you don't have to get it all browned and if it clumps up into a blob that is ok. Other than burning the cheese, you can't really mess this up. Once there is some browning on the blobs, move them to a plate to cool.
For the vinaigrette:
- Combine the ingredients and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.
To serve:
- Place some rice on the plate and top with chicken and peppers. Add some crispy feta, fresh herbs and drizzle with dressing and serve!