My sister made my mother a delicious orzo dish when my mother came to visit her last month. I don’t know what that dish was but when my mother came back she wanted me to cook her an orzo dish. She had never eaten orzo before and had found it tasty and interesting.

There are multitude of orzo recipes around and I did not really know where to start. My instinct was to try something that involved lemon and chicken. I recall that last time that I cooked orzo with chicken and loved it was for an alternative Christmas dinner for that first challenging lockdown in 2020.

I wasn’t going to make that recipe again and so I searched for a recipe that I could cook in one pot that would be easy and tasty. After a few clicks, I found one!

I was fairly easy to put together, a much needed ask in the heat of the afternoon. As the weather was so nice, I thought I take advantage of this and eat outside.

We ate it as a complete meal on its own. It seemed filling enough, washed down with a glass of water. I think my mother liked it – she finished her meal, sat back, looked at me and said o ṣeun, which is the Yoruba word for thank you. When she said that I felt a deep sense of pride – Mummy liked my food! Hooray! Such a big thing for me.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 lb. bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (4 to 6 thighs)

• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

• 1 tbsp. kosher salt, divided

• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 medium shallot, finely chopped

• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter

• 1 1/2 c. dry orzo

• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 1 heaping tbsp. capers

• 3/4 c. dry white wine

• 3 c. low-sodium chicken broth and/or water

• 5 oz. baby spinach

• 1/2 c. heavy cream

• 4 oz. feta, broken into large pieces

• Zest and juice of 1 lemon

• Chopped fresh dill and parsley, for serving

Some of my adaptations. I missed out the butter. I don’t like capers so I did not include them. I used yoghurt instead of cream. I did not have any dill.

Instructions

• Step 1
Preheat oven to 400°. Pat chicken dry with paper towels; season with pepper and 1 teaspoon salt.

• Step 2
In a large, high-sided, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil until shimmering. Arrange chicken skin side down in skillet in a single layer. Cook, undisturbed, until skin is golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Flip and cook until second side is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

• Step 3
Reduce heat to medium. Cook shallots and butter, stirring, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add orzo, garlic, and capers; season with remaining 2 teaspoons salt. Cook, stirring often, until orzo is lightly toasted and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add wine and scrape up any browned bits from bottom of pan. Pour in broth and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring frequently to prevent sticking, until liquid is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes.

• Step 4
Stir in spinach and cream until spinach is wilted. Return chicken to pan skin side up, along with any accumulated juices.

• Step 5
Transfer skillet to oven and bake, uncovered, until chicken is cooked through and orzo is tender, about 15 minutes. 

• Step 6
Top with feta, lemon zest, lemon juice, dill, and parsley.