Recipe video above. A great one-pot meal for midweek, tastes like risotto but so much easier to make! Lemon garlic chicken, surprising amount of hidden vegetables, oozy tomato risoni (orzo), loaded with Greek flavours! The list of ingredients is looks long, but there's actually a lot of repeat ingredients. :)
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time35 minutesmins
Total Time50 minutesmins
Course: Dinner, One Pot
Cuisine: Greek(ish)
Keyword: One Pot Dinner, orzo recipe, quick dinner, risoni
Servings: 4- 5
Calories: 575cal
Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Ingredients
Lemon Garlic Chicken
1 lb / 500g chicken thighs, boneless skinless (or breast), cut into 2 cm / 1" pieces
2garlic cloves, finely minced
1tbspdried oregano
1tbspolive oil
1/2tbsplemon juice
1tsplemon zest
1/2tspeach salt and pepper
Orzo/Risoni
2tbspolive oil
2garlic cloves, minced
1small onion, finely chopped
2zucchini (medium, or 1 large), cut into 1cm / 1/3" cubes (Note 1)
1red bell pepper/capsicum, cut into 1cm / 1/3" cubes (Note 1)
1tbspdried oregano
2 1/2cupschicken broth/stock, low sodium
14 oz / 400g canned crushed tomatoes
1tbsptomato paste
1 1/2cupsorzo/risoni(Note 2)
1 1/2cupscherry tomatoes(1 Australian punnet)
1tspcooking salt(kosher salt)
1/2tspblack pepper
Garnish (semi-optional)
2tbsplemon juice, drizzling at end
1/2 cup (100g)Greek feta cheese, crumbled (not optional)
Marinade chicken - Combine Marinated Chicken ingredients in a bowl and set aside for marinate for 20 minutes. (Skip if in hurry, can also do overnight)
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan).
Brown chicken (raw inside) - Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a a large oven proof skillet or pot over high heat (Note 3). Cook chicken until lightly browned but still pink inside. Remove from skillet.
Sauté vegetables - Add 1 tbsp olive oil, garlic and onion. Saute for 1 minute, then add zucchini and bell peppers/capsicum. Cook for 2 minutes.
Add everything else - Add risoni, oregano, chicken broth, tomato, tomato paste, salt and pepper.
Scatter chicken and cherry tomatoes across the surface (don't stir in).
Bake 15 minutes - Once the liquid comes to a simmer, transfer to the oven (no lid) and bake for 15 minutes (or until risoni is just cooked, tender but still firm). There may be liquid on the surface still - that's good!
Drizzle with lemon - Remove from oven, drizzle with lemon juice. Garnish with feta and fresh oregano leaves, if desired, then serve.
Notes
1. Veg - Any saute-able veg will work great here. Beans, carrots, celery, small bits of cauliflower or broccoli, even diced frozen veg.2. Risoni, also known as orzo - Rice shaped small pasta sold in the pasta aisle, same price as spaghetti etc. Tastes like risotto, but much faster to cook!3. Cooking vessel - Pictured skillet is a 30cm/12" non stick skillet. 28cm/11" deep skillet ok too, any smaller and you'll need to be careful re: liquid overflow when transferring to oven. Else, use a large pot!3. Risoni cooks very quickly! So transfer it to the oven as soon as it starts simmering on the stove, otherwise it will overcook by the time the bake time is finished (it cooks faster on the stove than the oven).Check it after 15 minutes see if the orzo / risoni is done. Don't worry if it's done and it's still quite saucy - that's a GOOD thing! :) The liquid evaporates quite quickly while serving. It was slightly wetter when I took it out of the oven.4. Leftovers will keep for 3 days in the fridge though it won't be as oozy as the risoni absorbs the sauce. Resurrect with a splash of water, and microwave.Nutrition assuming 5 servings.