Gluten free Chicken Casserole with Rice – oh my ! We could not stop eating it!

This is one of the easiest and most delicious dishes I have ever made. I know that you will LOVE it. It is juicy, tasty and gluten free! Amazing! My son is gluten intolerant-and we are having a dinner party where one of our guests is gluten intolerant – and so I decided to make the whole dinner without gluten. Not without its challenges – especially when it comes to dessert unless its a  fruit or flan or caramel. But that will be another post. In the meantime here is the main dish! Enjoy!

Little Farm Gluten Free Brown Rice Chicken Casserole with Yellow Beet salad and Green Salad 

• 6 Tbsp of Olive Oil
• Lemon Salt or Lemon Pepper if you prefer
• 2 garlic cloves sliced
• 2 cups of chopped leeks ( light green white parts only , cleaned)
• 2 cups of diced peeled eggplant – about one big one
• 4 Tbsp of chopped basil
• 2 14.5 ounce cans of chopped tomatoes in puree
• 4 cups of chicken stock
• 2 cups of brown rice ( Gluten free)
• 4 lbs of grilled chicken breasts and thighs cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 cup of shredded Parmesan ( I got the wrong kind – got the finely grated kind – and that worked fine too!)

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the chicken boneless skinless  breasts and thighs into pieces and put them with some lemon salt into your 9×13 baking dish with some olive oil under and a drizzle of olive oil on top.  Grill for 20 minutes until almost done. Do not let the chicken dry out – under done is better. Drain all the juice off and keep it to add to the rice mixture later.
2. While the chicken is cooking, heat the olive oil and saute the garlic for 5 minutes, then add the leeks and saute until golden. Move the leeks to the side of the pan and put the hot part under the rest of the pan – and add the eggplant. Add more oil as needed. Cook until the eggplant is soft.
3. Then mix the eggplant and the leeks together in the pan.
4. Add the basil, tomatoes, chicken broth and liquid from cooking the chicken pieces, brown rice and mix.
5. Bring to a simmer.
6. Add the chicken pieces and stir.
7. Then turn the whole pan into the baking dish that you cooked the chicken in, and put that into the oven which you reduce to 400 and bake covered for the next 60 minutes.
8. Depending on the brown rice and how you like it ( we like it soft not al dente) you may have to add a bit more time. I cooked mine for 70 minutes.
9. Just before serving add the Parmesan and turn the broiler on for just 5 minutes. Then serve.

I made a Beet salad ( roasted yellow beets in the oven, peeled and cut them, added olive oil and balsamic reduction and salt) – here they are!I served this along with our normal Little Farm Greens with dots of home made ricotta, chopped carrots and cucumbers and cherry tomatoes – and a lemon juice, olive oil, Parmesan dressing.

Sigh.

It was sublime.

Enjoy!