Crispy Chicken with Orzo and Feta

By: Deborah

This crispy chicken with orzo and feta recipe features tender chicken with a golden crust, with flavourful orzo, fresh herbs, and tangy feta. A perfect meal for any night of the week!

PREP: 10

COOK: 25

TOTAL: 35

Course: Main

Cuisine: Greek

Servings: 4 people

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Equipment

Ingredients

300 g (0.7 lb) orzo
1.5 tsp dried oregano
8 skin on bone in chicken thighs
salt
500 ml (2 cups) hot chicken stock (made using a stock cube or pot)
2 tsp vegetable oil
100 g (3.5 oz) feta cheese crumbled or diced
freshly ground black pepper to garnish
leaves from 4 fresh oregano sprigs chopped, to garnish

Instructions

Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Add the orzo to a large ovenproof casserole (I use our 32cm diameter round cast iron casserole) and mix through the dried oregano, ready for going into the oven at step 3.
Put a large frying pan over a medium high heat and wait a few minutes for it to heat up. Season the chicken all over with salt. Pour the hot chicken stock over the orzo.
When the frying pan is hot, add the 2 tsp of vegetable oil, swirl it and put the thighs in, skin-side down. Put the casserole with the orzo and stock into the oven and set a timer for 5 minutes. The chicken skin should be crisp and golden (don’t be tempted to move the thighs before this happens, but if some parts are taking longer to brown than others you can press down on the thighs with a spatula). Once the skin is crisp, the thighs should easily release from the pan.
Place the crispy chicken thighs onto the top of the orzo (skin-side up), cook for 15 minutes then scatter the feta over the orzo (try not to cover the chicken with the feta so that the skin gets even more crispy!). Cook for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and garnish with freshly ground black pepper and the chopped oregano leaves.
Serve with your choice of green vegetables, Greek salad and garlic or crusty bread.

Notes

Vegetarian option – replace the chicken with roasted vegetables like courgettes and peppers and use vegetable stock.

Gluten-free option – substitute the orzo with rice, quinoa or gluten-free pasta.

This crispy chicken with orzo and feta recipe is easily adapted if you’re cooking for less or more people. You’ll need to use 2 casseroles if you’re doubling up the recipe!

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

KEYWORDS chicken and orzo recipe, comfort food, crispy chicken recipe

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