Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
- ½ tsp salt, plus extra to taste
- 1 tbsp freshly minced garlic
- ½ cup (80 g) roughly chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil (see note 1)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 cup (200 g) risoni (orzo)
- 2 cups (500 ml) chicken stock
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 cup (250 ml) thick (double/heavy) cream
- 2 handfuls fresh baby spinach
- ½ cup (50 g) grated parmesan, plus extra to serve
- Salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- 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
Note 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 tbsp of tomato paste (concentrated puree). Alternatively, pump up the flavour and use store-bought red pesto or even basil pesto!
Note 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 tbsp at a time of boiling water from the kettle, stirring the sauce rapidly. This will loosen the mixture.
Make ahead:
Dice the chicken and refrigerate it in an airtight container, ready for when you need it (up until the chicken expiry date).
Leftovers:
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Upon reheating, you may find that the oils separate from the cream, but the taste is equally delicious! This recipe is not suitable to freeze as the risoni changes texture and turns mushy.
Recipe source:
My source of inspiration for this recipe was Kale Junkie. You can view the original recipe here. I made adjustments to the seasoning, liquid to risoni (orzo) ratio and also chose to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, which I find stay juicier and more tender throughout the cooking process.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: mains, pasta, quick and easy, one pan, chicken
- Method: pan
- Cuisine: American, Australian