Chicken, One Dish, Pasta, Sauces, Spanish

One Pan Creamy Chicken and Chorizo Orzo

Posted by wyoung on

I wasn’t really prepared for how much my family loved this recipe from Chris Collins. It was SOO good.

INGREDIENTS

CHICKEN

  • 600g / 1.3lb boneless skinless Chicken Thighs(preferably 6 even-sized thighs)
  • 1 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
  • 1 tsp Dried Oregano
  • 1/2 tsp EACH: Garlic Powder, Salt
  • 1/4 tsp EACH: Onion Powder, Black Pepper
  • 1/8 – 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil

CREAMY SAUCE

  • 1 small White Onion
  • 100g / 3.5oz diced Spanish Chorizo(see notes)
  • 6oz mushrooms
  • 2 cloves of Garlic
  • 60ml / 1/4 cup Dry White Wine
  • 180ml / 1 cup low-salt Chicken Stock(see notes)
  • 180ml / 1 cup Double/Heavy Cream, leave at room temp
  • 20g / 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
  • 1/2 bunch of Fresh Basil(~15g)
  • 175g / 6oz Baby Plum Tomatoes

DIRECTIONS

  1. Coat both sides of the chicken thighs with the seasoning. Add the oil to a large pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the thighs and fry both sides until lightly charred and cooked right through the centre (4-5 minutes on each side depending on size). If they start charring too aggressively just lower the heat slightly. Remove and place on a plate to one side. Lower the heat to medium.
  2. While the chicken is cooking, finely dice the onion and garlic, then halve the tomatoes and roughly dice the basil. If you need to grate the parmesan, make the stock and dice the chorizo do this now too, although if you run out of time you can do this whilst the onion is frying (next step).
  3. Add the onion to the leftover fat in the pan and fry until it begins to soften. Add the chorizo and fry for 2 minutes, then add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Pour in the wine then raise the heat and bring to a rapid simmer. Cook for around 2 minutes until it almost completely evaporates. Lower the heat slightly.
  4. Add the stock, and orzo, cook for 3-5 minutes. Then add cream and parmesan and give it a really good stir to blend everything. Simmer fairly rapidly for 3-4 moreminutes until the sauce thickens and orzo cooks through, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes, basil and the resting juices from the chicken and gently simmer for a couple of minutes until the tomatoes begin to soften.
  5. Turn the heat to low, add the chicken back and spoon over the sauce for a minute or so to warm it through.