Chicken Baked with Tomatoes and Lemon
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 3.5-4 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs trimmed and cut into 1-½ inch pieces
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 large onions diced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon freshly-ground coriander
- Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- zest of one large lemon
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ½-1 teaspoon chili flakes or 2 large chilis, destemmed, deseeded, and diced
- 2 cans (454 grams each) tomato purée or whole tomatoes don't used diced tomatoes
- ½-1 liter 2-4 cups* chicken stock
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- juice of one large lemon
- 454 grams orzo pasta
- 150 grams haloumi cheese sliced or feta crumbled
- Optional: baby greens, blanched broccoli, or green salad to serve alongside
Instructions
- Drizzle olive oil into a wide Dutch oven set over medium (4/10 heat). Season the chicken pieces with a sprinkle of the kosher salt and pepper, then taking about one-quarter of the pieces at a time (so they fit in the frying pan in a single layer without crowding), sauté until lightly browned on all sides. Once each portion is browned, set off to the side in a bowl or plate.
- When all the chicken is browned, preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C, adjusting the rack(s) to the bottom and middle. The rack in the middle of the oven needs enough room above it to hold the covered Dutch oven.
- Add the tablespoon olive oil, diced onions, garlic, ground coriander to the Dutch oven (no need to clean it between chicken and onions). Stirring occasionally, cook over gentle heat until the onions soften, about 20 minutes. Add the sweet paprika, lemon zest, honey, chili flakes, then continue to stir over the heat another 1-2 minutes.
- Pour the spiced onion mixture over the chicken pieces in the Dutch oven and stir well to distribute. Pour in the tomatoes, then the chicken broth*, using a little of the broth to "rinse out" the tomato cans of any clinging tomato stuck to the bottom. The meat should be just covered by the liquid. Add the cinnamon sticks and lemon juice, then stir carefully to combine.
- Place the Dutch oven over high heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Once the liquid boils, cover the Dutch oven, then place it in the pre-heated oven. Cook for 45 minutes, checking occasionally (every 20 minutes-ish) to ensure the meat is still covered by liquid and adding more chicken broth (or water) if it is not.
- Remove the Dutch oven from the oven, remove the lid, and pour in the uncooked orzo pasta.*** Stir to combine, then return the pot to the oven (uncovered) for another 25 minutes, at which point the orzo should be very tender. Stir in any greens you might want to add, like baby spinach leaves or petit peas. The heat from the stew will wilt them.
- If using halloumi, ten to fifteen minutes after adding the orzo, slice the halloumi and fry it (you can use the same frying pan or a smaller one) until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side.
- Once the chicken and orzo are tender, add a little more chicken broth to loosen up the sauce if necessary.
- Serve the chicken baked with orzo immediately, with a couple slices of the sliced fried halloumi on top of each serving.
Notes
*depending on the size Dutch oven you have, you may not be able to add all 4 cups of chicken stock. My 4.5 quart Dutch oven will only hold 2.5 cups. **Select a Dutch oven (or oven-safe pot) that has a lid.
***Alternatively, cook the pasta separately. After 45 minutes of cooking the chicken with the lid on, remove the lid to let some of the liquid evaporate in the hot oven. Meanwhile, once the orzo is cooked, stir in about 1 tablespoon of butter to prevent the pasta from sticking to itself and for richness. Try to time this with the stew being completed.