I’ve been craving Gruyere lately, especially Gruyere with Dijon mustard, so I picked up some boneless, skinless chicken breasts last night and whipped this up in no time this evening. Less than an hour from start to finish… actually quite a bit less, which is a good thing since I forgot Cat had to leave early for work tonight and I wound up with 30 minutes less prep time than I thought! This is one of those things for which I really have a hard time writing down a recipe, since I pretty much winged my way through it, but I’ll give it a shot.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• salt & pepper for sprinkling chicken
• 2 cups converted rice (I like Uncle Ben’s)
• 4 1/2 cups water
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 4 tbsp. butter
• 2 cups whole milk (you could be decadent and use half & half… of course *I* would never do such a thing!)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp. spicy brown mustard (you can use all Dijon; I just ran out before there was enough mustard in there to suit me)
• 10 oz. grated Gruyere (or other good strong Swiss cheese)
• salt & pepper to taste for the sauce

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Place the rice, 4 1/2 cups water, 2 tbsp. olive oil, and 2 tsp. kosher salt into an oven-proof casserole or Dutch oven that will hold all the rice and the chicken. Stir together to combine well, and place over high heat until the water begins to boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer, cover, and let simmer while you brown the chicken. (You won’t cook it all the way done on the stovetop.)

Meanwhile, place 3 tbsp. olive oil in a nice big skillet over medium-high heat until the oil is good and hot (but not, of course, smoking.) Place the chicken breasts, pretty side down, in the hot oil and cook until nicely browned. Don’t poke or touch them until they’re ready to turn!! When browned on the first side, flip over and brown the second side. This took about 10 minutes all together.

Turn off the heat under the rice, uncover, and arrange the browned chicken breasts over the rice. About half the water should be cooked away by this point, but it will still be kind of soupy. Replace the cover and slide the Dutch oven into your preheated oven and cook for about 20 minutes, until the rice is all done and the chicken cooked all the way through.

Here’s what it looked like when I pulled it out of the oven. Mmm.

While this is going on, you can make the sauce. I used the same pan that I browned the chicken in. Add the butter and stir it around over medium-high heat until melted and just slightly browned. Careful not to burn it! Whisk in the flour until perfectly smooth, then pour in the milk and wine. Continue to whisk until everything’s smooth and glossy and comes up to a simmer. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes, then whisk in the mustard(s). When well combined, turn off the heat and stir in the grated Gruyere until it’s melted. Season to taste with kosher salt.

Serve chicken over rice with sauce spooned over the top. Yum!