Chicken, Rice & Nuts

I first tasted this dish when my Lebanese boss invited me to join his family for Christmas lunch. His mother prepared a table filled with traditional Lebanese dishes, each one more generous and flavorful than the last. Among them was this chicken with rice and nuts, a simple yet deeply comforting dish that immediately stood out to me.

It’s a recipe that captures the warmth of family cooking—spiced rice, tender chicken, and the crunch of toasted nuts bringing it all together. For me, it will always carry the memory of that meal and the generosity of being welcomed into someone else’s tradition.

Ingredients:

For the Chicken:

• 1 whole free-range chicken

• Salt and black pepper, to taste

• 1 tbsp olive oil

For the Rice:

• 1 ½ cups basmati rice, soaked 30 minutes and drained

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1 tsp ground black pepper

• 1 tsp ground allspice

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp paprika

• 2 tbsp good-quality butter

• 2 cups good-quality stock (chicken or vegetable)

• 2 onions, finely sliced

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

For the Nut Topping:

• ¼ cup flaked almonds

• ¼ cup walnuts, roughly chopped

• ¼ cup chopped Medjool dates or raisins

• 2 tbsp browned butter

Instructions:

1. Roast the Chicken

1. Preheat oven to 200°C / 400°F.

2. Rub the chicken with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

3. Place on a roasting tray and roast for 1 hour–1 hour 15 minutes, or until juices run clear.

4. Rest for 10 minutes before carving.

2. Cook the Rice

1. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat.

2. Add the chopped onions and cook slowly until golden brown (about 15 minutes).

3. Stir in garlic, cinnamon, black pepper, allspice, cumin, and paprika. Cook 1–2 minutes until fragrant.

4. Add soaked rice, stirring to coat in the spiced butter.

5. Pour in stock, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, until rice is tender and fluffy.

3. Prepare the Nut Topping

1. In a small pan, melt the butter and cook until golden and nutty (browned butter).

2. Add almonds and walnuts, toasting lightly until fragrant.

3. Stir in chopped dates or raisins. Mix well.

4. Assemble & Serve

1. Fluff the spiced rice with a fork to make it looser and transfer it to a serving platter.

2. Tear or carve the chicken up and arrange the boneless pieces over the rice.

3. Sprinkle with the nut and date burnt butter.

4. Serve this dish with a generous bowl of tahini sauce.

Chefs tip:

There are two ways to do this recipe, You can follow the exact same steps but when itc omes to the rice portion of the recipe you can place the rice into a casserole dish and bake in the oven for the same amount of time. This increases the flavor a little more giving you a caramelized flavor .

You can also add the roasting and resting juices of the chicken to the rice to Bump up the flavor even more