Rice
Rinsing rice is the key to getting it cooked just right. Rinsing it removes excess starch on the rice kernels' surface. This gives the cooked, finished product a fluffy texture with separate rice kernels. If you don’t rinse it the excess starch has no where to go and can make your rice gummy or overly sticky when it’s cooked. A simple step but not one to miss out!

You can use whatever rice you like, I also love this recipe with arborio rice which gives you a risotto-like consistency which is very good too.

Stock
You know by now that Dinner Tonight is not the kind of place that will shame you into feeling bad if you don’t have homemade stock bubbling away on the stove at all times. I never do - and a stock cube is going to be absolutely fine, more than fine…it will be great! You can also buy really great fresh stock in pots so if you have that, fab!

Tomatoes
Tinned tomatoes, crushed, whole plum or passata are all going to work perfectly here so don’t stress, whatever you have or can get your hands on. I love the brand Mutti for tinned tomatoes, I don’t know what they do to them to get them tasting quite so delicious but they really are very good.

The sun dried tomatoes are optional, I know some people don’t like them but I love them and they work so well in this just to add another little dimension but in a subtle way. And if you do use them, definitely use the oil in the jar in place of the olive oil to sweat the onions in. Absolutely delicious and such a shame to waste that gorgeous oil. My jars of sundried tomato sit in the fridge long after the tomatoes have been eaten and I use the oil for salad dressings which is so good.

Side suggestions
I love this, and actually most things with a generous pile of rocket but shaved fennel and rocket salad with a little lemon juice or some charred tenderstem broccoli or wilted chard would all be lovely if you need a little green. I can’t lie, I don’t always. But all these options only take a few minutes to do and pair beautifully with the dish.

Leftovers
People can be a little nervous to reheat rice but there is no need to be I promise. Now for this I would probably heat a little stock in a pan, like a 1 cm or so and then when its nice and hot I would add the rice and heat it gently until it’s warmed through. That’s how we would cook risotto in the restaurant - have you ever wondered how your risotto appears so quickly when we all know they are a labour of love? Well it’s because we would cook it earlier in the day to about 90% done, cool it down and then during service, scoop spoons of it out and into pans with a little hot stock and finish cooking it. This is a great tip if you’re having a dinner party and want to serve risotto, it makes it very stress free. I think I would also strip the chicken off the thighs and stir it through the rice. Add a smattering of parmesan, perhaps a little mascarpone or butter and it’s going to be so good.

Here’s the step by step of what to do: