Chicken with Orzo

This Greek comforting classic is as easy as it gets. It also happens to be one of my favourite recipes inspired by Kathy from the Sweet Greek at Prahran Market.

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Chicken with Orzo

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

2 tbs olive oil
1 kg chicken thighs, diced (you can also substitute chicken with beef or lamb)
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup white wine
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 tbs tomato paste
2 bay leaves (preferably fresh)
1 heaped tsp dried oregano
500g orzo pasta
1 cup kefalotiri, grated (hard sheep’s milk cheese)
4-5 cups chicken stock
sea salt and freshly cracked pepper

DIRECTIONS

Heat the olive oil in a large, deep frypan and brown the meat in batches and transfer to a seperate dish.

Add the onion and garlic to the frypan and sauté until translucent. Add the white wine and simmer until evaporated. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste stock, bay and oregano and stir.

Tip the meat back into the frypan . Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes and season to taste.

Preheat your oven to 170C. Pour the meat with all the liquid into a baking dish, add a little more stock if necessary and bake for a further 30-45 minutes or until the meat is tender.

Sprinkle the orzo into the baking dish and stir. Bake covered in foil for 10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked.

Take out of the oven, sprinkle with kefalotiri cheese and serve hot.