Chicken rice-a-roni (Lebanese-style rice and pasta pilaf with chicken)

Put a whole chicken in a pot with carrot, celery, onions and a bay leaf, cover with cold water, add salt and bring to a simmer on high heat.

Reduce to medium-low and simmer about 1 hour 15 minutes, until the thigh and leg pull easily off the carcass.

Lift the chicken pieces to a bowl, tipping the carcass to drain the broth from the cavity. Cool until it can be handled.

Pick the big easy pieces of meat off the skin and bones; return the scraps, bones and skin to the stock pot and simmer another hour or two for a richer broth.

Break spaghetti into one- to two-inch pieces.

Saute onions and diced sweet pepper in olive oil and butter over medium-high heat with salt for a few minutes, until the onions just start to turn translucent.

Add the broken spaghetti and toast it in the fat until as brown as wanted, from light golden to very dark; some onion and pepper may caramelize, which adds smoky sweetness.

Add the basmati rice and stir about a minute until every grain is coated with fat.

Season with black pepper, dried oregano, ground cumin and, optionally, saffron rubbed between the fingers.

Pour in the chicken broth and stir; add cayenne, drained rinsed garbanzo beans, green peas and the shredded chicken, and distribute evenly.

Bring back to a simmer, cover tightly, reduce to medium-low and cook exactly 15 minutes without lifting the lid or stirring.

Check that the rice is just barely tender; if undercooked, cover and cook a few minutes more.

Smooth it out, cover, turn off the heat and let it sit exactly 10 minutes.

Toss in chopped parsley and cilantro and stir to fluff and release the trapped heat. Taste and check the seasoning.

Serve, optionally with fresh lemon, chili flakes, hot sauce or garlic-infused yogurt.