Black Rice with Chicken, Medjool Dates, and Butternut Squash

I created this recipe today after reading about the wonderful health benefits of black rice which is also known as forbidden rice since it was originally mostly used in China and only by those wealthy enough. In fact it was only produced in limited amounts to be used by royalty. This was the first time I had ever tasted black rice and I liked it very much. Please make sure you allow plenty of time to make it as it will need to be soaked in water for an hour or longer before cooking and then it also takes about an hour to cook after that.

I made the recipe tonight and tweaked it slightly from what I thought it would be as I was cooking it. My wonderful husband who had leftover riblets from Applebee's in the fridge as an option if he did not like my recipe, actually went back for seconds. I loved it as well and I hope you will try it and enjoy it as much as I do. I follow a Paleo type of diet due to a Hashimoto's Thyroiditus diagnosis in 2013. This recipe promotes my health and wellness routine. Enjoy!

Black Rice with Chicken, Medjool Dates, and Butternut Squash
Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup uncooked black (forbidden) rice

1 teaspoon salt, divided

2 tablespoons olive oil divided

2 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces (weight= 1 lb 5 oz.)

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 large sweet onion, chopped

Butternut Squash, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces (weight=1 lb 6 oz.)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 can fire-roasted tomatoes (Hunt’s 14.5 oz can)

12 whole pitted dates, quartered

1/2 cup chopped raw pecans

Preparation:

Soak 1 cup of uncooked black rice in water for an hour or longer before starting this recipe. It will help reduce the cooking time.

Combine 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 cups chicken broth, and rice in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour or until rice is tender and water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork.

Heat 1 Tbls olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan, and saute 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

Add 1 Tbls olive oil, onion, squash, and garlic to pan; saute 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in reserved chicken, fire-roasted tomatoes, and dates; cover. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 15 minutes. Uncover; cook 10 minutes. Remove from heat; keep warm until rice has finished.

Serve the chicken mixture over rice mixture. Sprinkle the chopped pecans over everything.