This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
As any regular reader of A&G already knows, we are firm fans of Jane Lovett’s recipes. This Roasted Chicken Orzotto Milanese-style is from her Just One Pan recipe book which, apart from impressively easy recipes includes many brilliant tips that you will find really useful when busy in your kitchen. On Sunday I made this whole roast chicken with buttery orzo and parmesan which is a one pot dish and totally delish.
I was in Sainsburys and found this finest pure saffron (£3.15) which I can highly recommend as it was excellent quality; I only needed to use half of the contents in the cute little glass pot which were ample for a fabulous colour and flavour.
Roasted Chicken Orzotto Milanese-style
Course: MainDifficulty: Easy5-6
servings1
hour10
minutesSometimes recipes have a wonderful photo that implies a fabulous meal – but they aren’t always achievable by us mere mortals. Which is why we only publish recipes we have tried and tested and that live up to their promise. This one proved a pleasure to make, ends up looking exactly like the photograph and tastes sensational.
Ingredients
Half teaspoon (a large pinch) saffron strands
Glug of olive oil
One onion, finely chopped
Lemon
Whole chicken around 1.6kg, any giblets removed
Half teaspoon sea salt plus extra for seasoning
Freshly ground black pepper
2 good knobs of butter, softened
600ml chicken stock (fresh or use 2 stock cubes)
300g dried orzo
5 tbspn grated Parmesan
Directions
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees C/180 degrees C fan/gas 6.
- Put the saffron into a ramekin with one tablespoon boiling water and set aside to infuse.
- Put the olive oil into a large shallow ovenproof or casserole dish, roughly 33 x 26 x 6cm – large enough to hold the chicken comfortably with a little space around for adding the orzo later. Add the onion and swish around to coat in the oil. Halve the lemon, reserve one half then cut the other in two and stuff into the cavity of the chicken. Sit the chicken on top of the onion, season it with salt and pepper and smear with a good knob of butter. Stir the infused saffron (including strands) and the measured salt into the stock and pour half (300ml) into the dish avoiding the chicken. Roast, uncovered, for 50 mins.
- Remove from the oven and spoon or tip out the juices from inside the chicken into the dish. Distribute the orzo around the chicken, followed by the remaining stock, ensuring all the orzo is submerged.
- Return to the oven for 20 mins by which time the orzo will be cooked and most of the liquid absorbed. The chicken should be cooked through too.
- Remove from the oven and leave uncovered for 15 mins to rest and soak up the remaining liquid.
- Carefully remove the chicken to a plate, tipping any cavity juices out into the orzo. Stir the remaining butter and Parmesan into the orzo.
- Carve or joint the chicken and serve on top of the orzo, adding any juices from the chicken plate, with the remaining lemon half cut into wedges, one per serving, for squeezing over.
Notes
- In addition to the Parmesan, you can also stir through a good dollop of creme fraiche to make the orzo even creamier.
- Best eaten when not steaming or piping hot.
You can see more of Jane’s recipes here. Better still, buy one of her books!
Just click on the pix for more info:
