Soak the basmati rice in a bowl of cold water for 30 minutes, then rinse well under cold water until the water runs clear and all the starch has been washed off.
While the rice is soaking, preheat your oven to 160C.
Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in the Le Creuset 30cm buffet casserole over medium heat. Sauté the chicken pieces until golden brown then set aside.
Add the butter to the pan set over low heat and add the onions, carrot, cinnamon, star anise and thyme stalks and cook until the onions are translucent. About 5 minutes. Put the lid on the buffet casserole for most of the cooking time to create moisture.
When the onions have softened, add the spices and garlic and cook for about a minute until fragrant. Deglaze the pan with the orange juice scraping down any bits stuck to the bottom. Add the marmalade and cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated.
At this point add the rinsed and drained rice and toss to coat for a minute. Add the hot chicken stock and orange zest, increase the heat to medium/high and bring this to a rolling boil and cook for exactly 2 minutes after it starts boiling.
Add the chicken back in and lightly toss to evenly distribute. Put the lid on and put the casserole into the oven and cook for 25 minutes. Remove and let it rest for 5 minutes.
Fluff the pilaf up with a fork whilst marvelling at how perfectly separate the rice grains are and remove the cinnamon, star anise pods and thyme stalks and scatter the chopped parsley over the pilaf along with any other chopped nuts you might like (optional). Serve while still hot.
