One Pot Chicken and Orzo

A few months ago my wonderful mother made what I thought was Spanish rice (a favorite around here, basically a rice pilaf with tomato) but instead of browning rice to start the pilaf, she browned orzo pasta.

Brilliant! It was so incredibly good. Silky and savory like our sopa seca de fideo angel hair dish, but with little rice-shaped orzo pasta. The browning of the orzo adds a toasty nutty flavor to the pasta.

So, I thought I would step the idea up a notch and make something akin to arroz con pollo, except with pasta instead of the arroz. It would be “Orzo con Pollo”.

It’s a winner! And the best part? Aside from it being absolutely can’t-stop-eating delicious, is that it’s really easy to make, all in one large skillet.
First you brown the chicken, then brown the orzo in the rendered fat, and then add some onions and garlic. Add the chicken back to the pasta, pour in some stock and crushed tomatoes, cover and cook until the pasta has absorbed the liquid.
You can do most of the prep while the chicken is browning, so the whole shebang takes maybe 35 minutes.

One Pot Chicken and Orzo Recipe

To save time, while the chicken is browning, prep the onion, garlic, and parsley.
You can easily swap out the thighs for bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts. Depending on the size of the pieces you may want to cut them in half.
If you use boneless, skinless thighs or breasts do not brown them as long in the first step. They will not need as much cooking time as the bone-in, skin-on thighs.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 to 3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat


• 2 teaspoons olive oil


• 1 teaspoon butter


• 12 ounces (2 cups) orzo pasta


• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion (about 1 medium onion)


• 2 cloves garlic, minced


• 2 1/4 cups chicken stock


• 3/4 cup canned crushed tomatoes (including juices)


• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper


• 1 teaspoon salt


• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

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