Chocolate Chicken with Spiced Rice

Ingredients

• 8 pre-cooked chicken pieces (about 1–1.2 kg; breast, wings and thighs)
• Salt
• Pepper
• 70 g turkey ham
• 80 g shallots (8 small)
• 3 Garlic cloves
• 2 carrots
• 1 stalk Celery
• 250 g white mushrooms
• 2 tbsp Rapeseed oil
• 30 g spelt whole grain flour (2 tbsp)
• 30 g tomato paste (2 tbsp)
• 100 ml dry red wine
• 2 Bay leaves
• 3 sprigs oregano
• 5 peppercorns
• 4 cloves
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 500 ml chicken broth
• 200 g parboiled rice
• 50 g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Clean and pat the chicken pieces dry, then season with salt and pepper. Dice the turkey ham. Peel or trim the shallots, garlic, carrots, and celery. Halve the shallots. Finely chop the garlic, dice the carrots and celery. Clean the mushrooms and leave whole or halve depending on size.

2. 2.

   Heat oil in a tall pan over high heat. Brown the chicken pieces in batches for 5 minutes each until golden brown; remove and set aside. In the same pan, sauté carrots, celery, and shallots for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Add mushrooms, ham, and garlic, cooking for 3 more minutes. Remove the vegetables and set aside.

3. 3.

   Return the chicken to the pan, dust with flour, stir in tomato paste, and let caramelize for 2 minutes while stirring. Deglaze with red wine. Wash and dry bay leaves and oregano sprigs, then add them to the chicken. Add all spices except one cinnamon stick and two cloves, pour in broth, and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Re-add the vegetables and cook another 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the rice with the remaining cinnamon stick and cloves in 2.5 times salt water for 16–18 minutes.

4. 4.

   When the chicken is tender, remove cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, oregano sprigs, peppercorns, and cloves. Break the chocolate into pieces, fold into the sauce, and melt over low heat. Taste and garnish with remaining oregano. Serve the chicken with sauce and rice.