Italian Pan Fried Chicken with Rice

My mother frequently prepared pan-fried chicken, which was not a deep fried crispy chicken like you might get at KFC. Rather, this is chicken that has been dipped in seasoned flour and shallow pan fried in a combination of oil and butter, then baked.


The purpose of the pan fry is to provide a browned crust and not to cook the chicken through, as this occurs in the oven along with the rice. The baking process helps to flavor the rice as the chicken finishes cooking and gives off its juices.


While any cuts of chicken can be prepared this way, it's ideal to use bone-in, skin-on pieces of chicken. To ensure even cooking, I usually just purchase legs, wings and sometimes thighs for this recipe. If you prefer, you can fold the tips of the wings under for a neater V-shaped appearance.

For the rice, you can use any rice you prefer. I like to use a yellow rice mix. You cook the rice until nearly done before adding with the chicken for the final oven bake. I'm at a rental villa in Lake Cuomo, Italy making this dish today. 

Ingredients
Cut up chicken pieces, bone-in, skin-on
   6-8 legs and 6-8 wings
2 cups flour
Italian dry seasoning to taste (or
     dried chopped basil, oregano, garlic, onion, paprika)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
Prepared cooked rice

Instructions
Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Mix the flour and seasonings in a bowl or pie plate. Use more seasonings than you might think is necessary to ensure full flavor. I usually use a teaspoon each of basil, oregano, garlic, onion powder and 2 teaspoons paprika. Add salt and pepper.

Place the rice in a pot to cook according to the package directions. Heat half the oil and butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Preheat your oven to 325F degrees.

Roll the chicken pieces in the flour, one at a time until you have coated just enough to fill your frying pan. Do not coat any pieces that won't fit into the first batch of frying. Brown the chicken on all sides and then remove to a plate. Prepare the second batch the same way and continue until all chicken is fried.

Place the cooked rice in a large shallow baking dish (here I'm using a 9 x 12 inch glass dish). Place the browned chicken pieces on top and bake for 20-30 minutes, until the largest pieces are cooked through and tender. Serve with green vegetable.

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