Spring chicken and orzo pot roast

Spring chicken and orzo pot roast

Pot-roasting chicken makes sure it’s tender, juicy and – in this dish – allows plenty of those flavourful juices to become absorbed into the orzo. Watercress adds pep, spring onions bring sweetness and asparagus offers its inimitable flavour. We present: a perfect one-pot meal for springtime Sundays.

Spring chicken and orzo pot roast

Discover all of our favourite recipes for spring here.

  • Serves icon Serves 4
  • Time icon Hands-on time 25 min, oven time 1 hour 25 min, plus resting

Pot-roasting chicken makes sure it’s tender, juicy and – in this dish – allows plenty of those flavourful juices to become absorbed into the orzo. Watercress adds pep, spring onions bring sweetness and asparagus offers its inimitable flavour. We present: a perfect one-pot meal for springtime Sundays.

Discover all of our favourite recipes for spring here.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories
793kcals
Fat
18.3g (4.4g saturated)
Protein
82g
Carbohydrates
58.5g (5.6g sugars)
Fibre
6g
Salt
0.9g

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Bunch spring onions, roots trimmed
  • 200g asparagus
  • 1.8kg free-range chicken
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 80g watercress
  • Finely grated zest and juice 1 lemon
  • 300ml white wine
  • 800ml fresh chicken stock (see Tips)
  • 300g orzo
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Method

  1. Heat the oven to 160°C fan/gas 4. Put a large, lidded, flameproof casserole over a high heat and add the oil. Once hot, add the spring onions and cook for a minute or so on each side until golden, then remove to a plate with tongs. Do the same with the asparagus. Set aside for later.
  2. Season the chicken, then add to the pan breast-side down and cook for about 3 minutes until the skin is golden. Turn it over and reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic to the pan, stirring it around the chicken rather than on top. Pour in the wine and bubble for a few minutes until reduced a little, then pour in the stock. Bring to the boil, then add the lid and pop in the oven. Roast for 1 hour 10 minutes.
  3. While the chicken roasts, put half the watercress (using up the stalkier ends rather than the leaves where possible) in a blender with the lemon juice and zest, and whizz to a paste.
  4. Take the pot out of the oven, then stir the orzo, the whizzed watercress mixture and the charred vegetables into the liquid around the chicken. Cover again and return to the oven for 15 minutes.
  5. Remove the lid and leave to stand for 15 minutes – this gives the chicken a chance to rest and the orzo will finish absorbing the liquid. Stir in the remaining watercress just before serving.

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving
Calories
793kcals
Fat
18.3g (4.4g saturated)
Protein
82g
Carbohydrates
58.5g (5.6g sugars)
Fibre
6g
Salt
0.9g

delicious. tips

  1. If you only have a 500ml pouch of fresh chicken stock, use that and top up with 300ml water.

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Recipe By:

Emily Gussin
Food producer and sustainability lead, delicious.

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Read what others say...

    1. Hi Richard. Sorry for the omission. The zest goes in with the juice when it gets whizzed with the watercress. We’ve amended the recipe. Many thanks!

  1. My understanding is that orzo is a type of pasta and therefore not gluten free. I have never seen GF orzo so I would think that the only possible replacement is rice.

    1. Thank you for the feedback Sue! The gluten-free tag has been rectified on this recipe, sorry for the inconvenience.

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