Friday, October 22, 2010

Lemon Roasted Chicken with Salad & Dilled Orzo

Is it just me or did anybody else not know that Orzo is actually a variety of pasta and not rice? For some reason or another (hmm... maybe because it looks a whole heck of a lot like rice), I was always under the impression that orzo was one of those hipster, upper-class kinda rices. Like say, arborio... or, I don't know ... risotto :) 
While shopping with a lovely colleague of mine in the Byward Market last week, we popped in to the ever-so-wonderful La Bottega (I just love the guy with the huge pipes cutting that massive block of cheese ...). She was looking for dried spanish sausage for one of her famous Philippino dishes and I just wanted to go for a walk and get out of the hospital for a few minutes. Needless to say, lo and behold, there it was in there - smiling back at us from the pastas from around the world aisle. Only 2.00$.  I thought to myself, "I'm going for it." And so did my friend. She too had never dived in to the exciting world of Orzo.  I managed to scrounge my delightful neighbour Karen`s last dregs of her fresh dill before she tore up her garden for the summer. We frequently share veggies and herbs over our fence - it`s a great system we`ve got going! 


The end result: This recipe was pretty yummy. The dill in the Orzo was a really different, kind of zingy taste that went along pretty well with the lemon. I have to say though that the two of us enjoyed the lemon chicken a whole lot more than the orzo and dill. Jeremy thinks that it might have been better if maybe if there was a `garlic infused` oil or something to spice up the orzo a bit more. That or you could just serve up the chicken with a nice veggie side dish. Up to you. It`s still very good, just maybe lacking a little something in the orzo. Any suggestions would be appreciated! Bon appétite!



Ingredients (to serve 4):
- chicken (about 6 1/2 pounds), cut into 10 pieces
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed
- 2 lemon, quartered
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
- Coarse salt and ground pepper
- 1 cup orzo
- 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
- 2 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
- greens for your salad


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Set a large saucepan of water to boil.
2. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss together chicken, garlic, lemons, oregano, and 1 teaspoon oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast chicken, skin side up, until golden and cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, generously salt boiling water. Add orzo, and cook until al dente; drain well, and return to saucepan. Add dill and 1 tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper, and mix gently to combine.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar and remaining 2 tablespoons oil; season with salt and pepper. When chicken and orzo are ready, add arugula to bowl; toss to coat. Drizzle chicken with pan juices, and serve with lemon wedges, orzo, and your salad.

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