Marry Me Chicken Risoni (Orzo)
| 2 tbsp | olive oil |
| 500 g | boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces |
| ½ tsp | salt, plus extra to taste |
| 1 tbsp | freshly minced garlic |
| ½ cup | roughly chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil (see note 1) |
| 1 tsp | dried oregano |
| 1 tsp | dried thyme |
| 1 tsp | sweet paprika |
| 1 cup | risoni (orzo) |
| 2 cups | chicken stock |
| 1 tsp | dijon mustard |
| 1 cup | thick (double/heavy) cream |
| 2 handfuls | fresh baby spinach |
| ½ cup | grated parmesan, plus extra to serve |
| Salt and cracked black pepper, to taste |
| Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based pan with a lid over medium–high heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring, for 3–4 minutes until browned. |
| Stir through the salt, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, oregano, thyme and sweet paprika. |
| Add the risoni, chicken stock, dijon mustard and thick cream. Bring to a gentle simmer so that it is just bubbling. |
| Cover and cook for 12–15 minutes or until the risoni is fully cooked – removing the lid to stir the risoni frequently, to stop the sauce from sticking to the base of the pan (see note 2 for help with the consistency). |
| Remove the pan from the heat, add the spinach and parmesan and season to taste with extra salt and pepper (you may need no extra salt depending on how salty the chicken stock is). |
| Sprinkle with extra parmesan just before serving and enjoy! |
| NOTES |
| 1: Use the leftover sun-dried tomato oil in place of the olive oil in the recipe to cook the chicken for extra flavour! The sun-dried tomatoes can be substituted with fresh, diced tomatoes or cherry tomatoes with 1 tablespoon of tomato paste (concentrated puree). Alternatively, pump up the flavour and use store-bought red pesto or even basil pesto! |
| 2: If you feel the risoni is too stiff (it’s not saucy and is clumping together more than you would like), simply add 1–2 tablespoons at a time of boiling water from the kettle, stirring the sauce rapidly. This will loosen the mixture. |