BBQ rules part 2

The star of the show has to be that beautiful, flaming grill and the rich, smokey flavours (and that cute guy with the tongs and apron).
But to take the pressure off, and to allow for inclement weather, it’s good to have one main dish out of the oven.
Here is a BBQ chicken roast which makes the most of the BBQ occasion, while giving you some breathing space to spread your awesome cuteness around.

Recipe: Barbecue chicken roast with rice

Ingredients

1 chicken cut into 8 pieces (see this post for method)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion, diced
Chopped herbs: parsley, oregano, thyme, basil
1 bay leaf
2 cups long-grain rice
1.5 cup all purpose tomato salsa
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Method

Preheat BBQ grill. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Place chicken skin down on the grill and cook for 2 minutes each side, or until skin is golden and grill marks show. Pre
Transfer to bowl, cover, and let rest for 10 minutes.

In a casserole dish heated to medium, add olive oil and onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Add juices from the covered chicken pieces. Add chopped herbs. Add tomato salsa, bring the mixture to a gentle boil.

Stir in rice. Stir in stock. Place chicken pieces with the nicest looking side facing up. Season with salt and pepper. Roast, uncovered for 30 minutes, or until rice is soft.

A slightly different version, on a bed of silver beet and rice, tomato salsa on top

Comments

You can either do this several hours before your guests arrive, or pop the chicken on with the haloumi starters and, while your guests are enjoying their entrée nibbles, your chicken is underway and about ready by the time the snags and steaks go on.
This is also a very good stand-alone Sunday evening meal, with lots of left-over school lunch potential.
This week, I made a very pleasant solo laksa with the shredded chicken from my Sunday BBQ roast.