Preparation time
less than 30 mins
Cooking time
1 to 2 hours
Serves
Serves 6
By Georgina HaydenFrom Saturday Kitchen
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 5 ripe tomatoes
- 400g/14oz orzo
- 1 litre/1¾ pint hot chicken stock
- 6 chicken thighs, on the bone and skin on
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- 250g/9oz cherry tomatoes on the vine
- 4 sprigs fresh oregano
- 75g/2½oz halloumi (or salted anari ricotta cheese)
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Greek salad
- 2 Little Gem Lettuce, cut into thin wedges
- 2 banana shallots, sliced
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- small handful black olives, stoned and torn
- 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped
Method
-
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Pour the olive oil into a wide casserole pan and add the chopped onions and garlic. Place on a medium-low heat and fry for 10 minutes, or until starting to soften. Add the cinnamon stick and tomato purée to the pan and stir for a minute. Coarsely grate in the large tomatoes, give everything a stir, then stir in the orzo and hot stock.
-
Toss the chicken thighs with the allspice and a generous pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the chicken on top of the orzo, skin side-up, and dot around the vines of tomatoes and the sprigs of oregano. Drizzle everything with olive oil and place in the oven for around 30 minutes.
-
Towards the end of this cooking time, boil a kettle. When 30 minutes is up, remove the casserole pan from the oven. Carefully pour 150ml/5fl oz of boiling water all around the orzo (avoiding pouring the water on the chicken skin) and return to the oven. Cook for a further 20–25 minutes, or until the chicken skin is crisp and golden-brown, and the meat is tender.
-
Remove from the oven, leave it to rest for 5 minutes, then grate the cheese over.
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To make the Greek salad, put all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix together.
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To serve, put a spoonful of the chicken into a plate alongside the salad.
