Chicken risoni is a secretly simple recipe bound to impress any dinner guest. Succulent chicken thighs boasting crispy skin bask comfortably with delicate shiny petals of risoni in a bath brimming with umami juices. Plump cherry tomatoes artfully placed with their stems still intact decorate this hearty meal and provide a sweet contrast to the savoury flavours. Chunks of salty creamy feta comfort the senses and elevate this home style dish also known as an orzo bake or in Greek “Giouvetsi Kotopoulo”to one of national pride.
The reason I described it as secretly simple is you literally start cooking it in the one pot throw everything in at different stages and then finish it off in the oven. It’s a one pot wonder. Who doesn’t love an easy way to get dinner on the table with minimal washing up? (If you don’t own a casserole dish, you can use a baking dish, just start the cooking process in a pan and then transfer to the baking dish (step 7) once you are ready to put the risoni in)
There are a few tips to succeed in order to get the “verrry good” and nod of approval from your Greek spouse as I did or Greek mother in law! Now you don’t have to do them you can use shortcuts or “hacks” if in a rush but if you want the best outcome read along below.
What you need to make this delicious dish
Ingredients & tips for best results
- Grate fresh ripe tomatoes instead of using crushed tinned ones
- Use real garlic and press it into a garlic mincer instead of garlic paste
- Use good quality Greek feta, my personal favourite is Dodoni
- Get chicken thighs on the bone with skin, the fat from the skin renders down and adds a beautiful glossy finish to the risoni
How to make Chicken Risoni
Watch this video to see how to make it
Check out our Masterful Mains category for more delicious Dinner Recipes.
Equipment
- Casserole Dish or Baking Dish
Ingredients
- 6 Chicken Cutlets on the bone, skin on (2.3kg)
- 1 ½ Cups Risoni
- 5-6 Large vine ripened red tomatoes grated (500mls)
- 250 grams Vine ripened cherry tomatoes or cocktail tomatoes
- 1 Medium Brown Onion diced finely
- 600 mls Chicken stock
- 2 Tbsp Tomato paste
- 3 Cloves Minced garlic
- ½ tsp Salt (Optional)
- 1 tsp Cracked pepper
- 1 tsp Dried oregano
- 1 tsp Sweet paprika
- 2 Tbsp Olive oil
- 150 grams Greek feta cut/broken into 2cm cubes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 190C Fan forced, 200C Convection.
- Place your low casserole pot on the stove, heat 2 table spoons of Olive oil over medium heat, add chicken cutlets skin side down. Cook the chicken for 2-3 min until the skin is nice and brown and skin fat is rendered, flip the chicken and cook the other side for 2 –3 minutes. Remove chicken cutlets from pot and place on a plate.
- Sautee onion in the pot and cook until translucent. Then add garlic and cook another 1 min.
- Add the grated tomato, tomato paste, dried oregano, sweet paprika, salt, pepper, chicken stock and then mix. Then place the chicken cutlets skin side up in the pot.
- Cover with a lid and simmer on low for 25 minutes.
- Then remove the lid and simmer for 30 minutes uncovered. Depending on the size of your chicken cutlets, they should be nearly cooked all the way through. To check doneness flip one cutlet over and slice from the bottom of one all the way through to the bone to check, the meat should be cooked but still be juicy.
- Turn off the stove heat and add the risoni to the dish distributing it around the chicken evenly.
- Place the cherry tomatoes on top, feta chunks and fresh oregano.
- Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 190C fan forced or 200C Convection. Be careful not to overcook the rissoni as it cooks very fast. Serve immediately.
Notes
Looking for mains to impress Dinner guests? Have a look at
our Roast pork with perfect crispy crackle Recipe
Recipe creation Scarlett Forward, Story by Carmen Forward,
Photography by Rachel Trevarton. © Recipe to taste All rights reserved.
Made this yesterday and my housemates loved it! Yummiest pasta bake!
The recipe was easy to follow, I used canned tomatoes and turned out great