Roast Chicken with Fennel Confit

I took my fennel confit recipe and added some santa grape tomatoes to it and topped with some chicken, placed it in a roasting pan with some par-boiled rice and made a sort of one dish casserole. First I made the confit and parboiled the rice for about 5 minutes. I layered the confit on half the bottom of a pyrex baking dish, on the other half I layered the rice. I sauteed the chicken in a very hot saute pan only until the skin was browned. I placed the chicken over the confit and rice in the baking dish and added some chicken stock. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Uncover and bake further until the chicken is crisped again and the rice is tender-add more stock if necessary.

Fennel Confit

1 pound fresh fennel, thinly sliced crosswise

5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup golden raisins

2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds

Juice and zest of one orange

Pinch of saffron

1 pint of Santa grape tomatoes

Chopped fresh Cilantro

Salt and pepper

Saute the fennel and garlic in the oil for about 5 minutes, the vegetables should be slightly soft, but not browned.

Stir in the raisins, coriander, juice, zest, and saffron. Stir-cook for another 2 minutes. Taste for the seasoning and add the grape tomatoes. Serve at room temperature, or proceed with the rest of the recipe and bake with the rice and chicken in a casserole. This is really good with any roast chicken or also with fish. Garnish with fresh Cilantro