Such a colorful and tasty recipe. But then, all of Ina Garten’s usually are.
Another one of Ina’s fabulous recipes. This is so very umami-good. It was a warm summer evening, but outside on the patio it was about 73° so very comfortable/cool enough to enjoy a hearty chicken dish.
Ina’s recipe starts with a whole chicken. I did have one in the freezer, but decided to use chicken pieces – so I bought a package of 4 chicken legs and two very large chicken breast halves. I cut those latter ones in half just because they were so large.
there were special plastic containers sold just for this purpose – put the dried pasta in it, add boiling water, cover and let sit for 20 minutes. Like magic: the pasta is cooked perfectly. This recipe uses that technique.
First, the chicken needs to be browned, to get that fond flavoring so necessary to this kind of dish. Once that was done I added in all the veggies – fennel, carrots, celery and leeks. Garlic, thyme, parsley, saffron (yum) and dill were added, some fresh some dried. That’s where I veered off Ina’s recipe just a bit. The chicken was nestled back into the pot (I used my large Le Creuset Dutch oven), with the already-simmering chicken broth, pot was covered and put into the oven. Ina’s recipe calls for 1 1/4 hours in the oven, using a whole chicken. For mine, I used chicken pieces, so if you’re starting with a simmering pot already, 45 minutes should be time to cook the chicken through.
I love this next part – once out of the oven you add 3/4 cup of dried orzo. Stir it around so there won’t be any clumps of pasta (I had a couple, hence I add in that little tip), put the lid back on and set it off heat for 25 minutes. The orzo I used was larger than some, so it took the full 25 minutes. Smaller orzo might take 20.
Scoop everything out onto a large rimmed platter or bowl and serve with some dill fronds on top. So very pretty. After dinner I scooped some to give to my friend Liv to take home, saved another serving or two for myself and even then I ended up with about 2 cups of very flavorful veggie-laden broth at the bottom of the pot. I think it will make a great base for some added vegetables and maybe a few bite-sized pieces of that chicken to make a serving or two of soup.
What’s GOOD: I loved the flavors here. The broth turns a lovely dark golden color from the saffron and I added a bit more than Ina suggested. I could taste the subtle saffron flavor. So good. It’s a complete meal as is, but I served it with a small green salad. If you’re into bread, this would be a perfect complement to use to soak up some of the liquid-y sauce. You could almost say this dish is a soup as there is plenty of chunky liquid to go with the chicken. But Ina doesn’t call it a soup.
What’s NOT: nothing really, but it does take some prep (all that chopping) and baking time too. Altogether worth the trouble, though. A keeper.
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Chicken in a Pot with Orzo
Recipe: Adapted slightly from Ina Garten’s recipe
Servings: 5
Good olive oil
1 whole chicken — (3 1/2 to 4-pound) or use chicken pieces
2 cups carrots — ( 3/4-inch diced)
2 cups celery — diced ( 3/4-inch)
2 cups chopped leeks — white and light green parts (3 leeks)
2 cups fennel — chopped, stalks and core removed (1 large bulb)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon saffron threads
1 teaspoon dried thyme
8 sprigs fresh parsley
10 sprigs fresh dill — plus extra for serving
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup orzo pasta
NOTE: If using cut-up chicken pieces, reduce baking time to 45 minutes.
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium (11-inch) Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset, over medium to medium-high heat. Dry the chicken all over, place it in the pot skin side or breast side down, and sear it for 5 to 7 minutes without moving, until the skin is nicely browned. Turn the chicken over and sear for another 4 to 5 minutes, until browned on the bottom. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
3. Add the carrots, celery, leeks, and fennel to the pot and sauté for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to brown. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Return the chicken to the pot, spreading the vegetables around the chicken. Add the chicken broth, saffron, dried thyme and fresh parsley with enough water to almost cover the chicken (for chicken pieces it did use just 4 cups broth). Add 1 tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, and bake for 45 minutes (chicken pieces) or 1 hour and 15 minutes (whole chicken), checking to be sure the liquid is simmering.
4. Remove pot from the oven, remove lid and stir the orzo into the broth, making sure it’s equally distributed around the pot, cover, and allow to sit off the heat for 20 to 25 minutes, until the orzo is tender. Test the orzo to make sure it’s done. If you’ve used a whole chicken, use forks to separate the chicken into quarters, carefully pull the breast meat away from the bones and reheat, if necessary. Spoon some of the chicken, broth, and pasta into large shallow bowls, and serve hot sprinkled generously with minced dill and salt.
Per Serving: 638 Calories; 30g Fat (42.2% calories from fat); 45g Protein; 47g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 138mg Cholesterol; 313mg Sodium; 9g Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 130mg Calcium; 5mg Iron; 1228mg Potassium; 471mg Phosphorus.
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