Greek Lemon Chicken Orzo

We couldn't scroll past Liz Borgo‘s (@lizthedietitian) Greek Lemon Chicken Orzo dish, ⁠without giving it a go! ⁠

As soon as we saw this light pasta dish, with lemon chicken, garlic, fresh zucchini, spinach, a dash of white wine then topped with cheese!

We had to match this with our Sauvignon Blanc, it did not disappoint! ⁠

Check out Liz’s recipe below

Greek Lemon Chicken Risoni/Orzo (known as Kritharaki in Greek)

Cozy, comforting Greek-style flavors.  Risoni or orzo absorbs flavors so well and cooks straight in the pan within 10 minutes.

INGREDIENTS- serves 4

700g skinless chicken thigh or breast

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 onion

4 cloves garlic

1 large zucchini

1.5 cups dry risoni/orzo

 2/3 cup dry white wine

1 L hot salt reduced chicken stock

1/3 cup lemon juice

2/3 cup finely sliced parsley (some dill is also nice)

100g baby spinach Crumbled feta (or Parmesan)

Extra lemon juice to serve

Notes  - heat up the chicken stock to speed up the cooking time. I do this in a glass jug in the microwave.

METHOD

1. Cut chicken thigh into rough 3cm chunks.

2. Add to a bowl and season with oregano, paprika, lemon juice salt and pepper and extra virgin olive oil. Toss to coat.

3. Finely dice onion, chop garlic, dice zucchini and thinly slice parsley.

4. Heat olive oil in a heavy based frypan on medium-high. I’ve used a shallow cast iron frypan.

5. Add chicken. Cook for 3-4 minutes each side. (Cook chicken in two batches to not overcrowd the pan). Remove chicken from the pan.

6. Add another drizzle of oil and onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes until starting to soften. If there’s lots of brown crusted bits on the bottom of the pan add a splash of stock to deglaze it.

7. Add diced zucchini for a further 2 mins.

8. Add dry orzo/rissoni and cook toasting it for a minute.

9. Add wine and allow it to bubble away for a minute.

10. Pour in hot chicken stock and bring to a simmer stirring occasionally so the pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom.

11. Simmer for about 8 minutes stirring occasionally.

12. Add lemon juice, parsley and baby spinach.

13. Return chicken to the pan and heat through for a further few minutes. The pasta continues to absorbs stock while the dish cools. You can always add a splash more liquid if needed.

14. Season with salt and pepper.

15. Sprinkle with feta. Remove from the heat. Serve with extra lemon juice if preferred.

 Cheers @lizthedietitian