This slow cooked chicken and tomato orzo is a one-pot winter dinner.
A hearty dish created by the talented Stacey Hatfield at Natural Spoonfuls. Stacey made it in the nöni™ 6L Rondeau + 33cm Skillet Lid Set, which takes the recipe from long, lidded simmer to finished orzo without changing pans. Ferritic stainless steel nöni™ is made for liquid-based cooking like boiling, slow cooking and acidic tomato sauces.
Prep: 15 mins | Cook: 1 hr 50 mins | Total: about 2 hrs 5 mins | Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the chicken and broth
- 1 whole free-range chicken
- 6 cups bone broth or vegetable stock
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 sprig rosemary
For the orzo
- Extra virgin olive oil, drizzled
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup orzo (or risoni)
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Pinch of pepper
- 2 handfuls spinach
- Parmesan cheese, grated to serve
Equipment
- nöni™ 6L Rondeau + 33cm Skillet Lid Set – the lid keeps moisture in during the long simmer, and the wide base gives the orzo room to cook evenly
- Fine sieve (for straining the broth)
- Two forks or Flippa Tongs (for shredding)
Method
1. Poach the chicken and make the broth
Add whole chicken, bone broth, garlic cloves and rosemary to the pan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover with the lid. Cook for 1.5 hours. Remove chicken, shred and set aside — discard bones. Strain the broth liquid and set aside, adding water to make 3 cups total.
2. Soften the onion and garlic
Give the pan a quick wipe, heat over medium, and add olive oil. Add onion and garlic and cook until softened.
3. Add the orzo and flavourings
Add the 3 cups of retained broth, cherry tomatoes, orzo, tomato paste, rosemary, chilli flakes, salt and pepper.
4. Simmer the orzo
Cook for 8–12 minutes or until the liquid has absorbed and orzo is cooked, stirring periodically so the orzo doesn't stick.
5. Stir through the chicken and spinach
Add shredded chicken and spinach, stir through and remove from heat once spinach has wilted.
6. Serve
With grated parmesan cheese.
Tips
- Shred while warm. Chicken is easiest to pull apart once it's cool enough to handle but still warm.
- Keep the extra broth. Any strained broth beyond the 3 cups is a ready-made stock. Freeze it for soups and risottos.
Full recipe and images provided by Stacey Hatfield at Natural Spoonfuls.
