bohemianwanderer – This oven-braised chicken and orzo dish is designed as a complete one-pan meal that combines warm spices, citrus, and herbs for depth of flavor. Preparation takes approximately fifteen minutes, while total cooking time reaches one hour and forty-five minutes. The recipe serves four people and focuses on slow, controlled cooking to develop texture and aroma. Careful layering of ingredients ensures the chicken remains moist while the orzo absorbs the seasoned cooking liquid.
Preparation and Spice Infusion Stage
Preheat the oven to 200°C, or 180°C with a fan setting, equivalent to gas mark six. Place the dried cascabel chillies and cinnamon sticks in a small frying pan over medium-high heat and toast them for about eight minutes until fragrant. Transfer the toasted spices to a large heatproof bowl and add the dried porcini mushrooms. Pour boiling water over the mixture, cover it, and let it soak for at least fifteen minutes to extract the flavour.
While the mushrooms soak, pat the whole chicken dry and season it evenly with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place one halved lemon inside the cavity to gently perfume the meat during cooking. Heat a large ovenproof cast-iron saucepan over medium-high heat with olive oil. Then brown the chicken on all sides for about seven minutes to develop colour and flavour. Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside.
Add the remaining oil to the pan. Then cook the celery and onion wedges for about six minutes until they turn lightly golden. Add the garlic slices and thyme sprigs, and cook them briefly until aromatic, taking care not to let them burn.
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Oven Cooking, Orzo Integration, and Serving
Return the chicken to the pan with the breast facing upward. Pour in the porcini soaking liquid along with the mushrooms and toasted spices. Then season with additional salt and black pepper. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, cover the pan, and transfer it to the oven for fifty minutes so the chicken turns tender while absorbing the seasoned liquid.
After fifty minutes, remove the pan from the oven and stir the orzo into the liquid. Pushing some of the grains gently into the chicken cavity. Cover the pan again and return it to the oven for another twenty minutes. Until the orzo becomes tender and absorbs most of the liquid. Increase the oven temperature to 220°C, or 200°C with a fan setting, remove the lid, and bake the dish uncovered for ten minutes to brown the surface and concentrate the flavours.
Let the dish rest for ten to fifteen minutes, then squeeze the remaining lemon half over the chicken and orzo and sprinkle chopped parsley on top. Serve the chicken and orzo directly from the pan with lemon wedges on the side to add brightness and balance to the finished dish.
