Lemon Roasted Garlic Chicken with Orzo Recipe

Ingredients

For The Chicken

• 1.5 lb of chicken thighs (4-6 pieces) bone in and skin on
• 3 tsp of lemon pepper (salt and pepper will do just fine if you don’t have or don’t like lemon pepper-this is what I used.)
• 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

For The Orzo

• 2 tbsp of butter – separated
• 1 lemon sliced
• 1 vegetable of your choice ( I used fresh summer squash from my garden)
• 1 onion chopped finely
• 4 cloves of garlic minced
• 1½ tsp of fresh thyme-or dried ( I used dried poultry spices that I had on hand)
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 3/4 cup of orzo
• 2 cups of chicken broth
• ½ cup of full fat milk or cream (can replace with broth instead if you prefer) I replaced mine with chicken broth

Additional Add-Ins

• Salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ cup of milk or cream (I did not use this, but used just chicken broth)
• ½ cup of Parmesan cheese ( I did not use this, but would taste good!)
• Fresh thyme or chopped parsley

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F
2. Clean, dry and season chicken with lemon pepper, or lemon salt and pepper and set aside
3. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large oven proof heavy bottom skillet or Dutch oven. I used my large black skillet. When the oil is hot add the chicken and sear on both sides until golden, about 5 minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside
4. Next, add 1 tbsp. of butter to skillet and on one half of the skillet sear the lemon slices until golden on each side and then set aside with the chicken. On the other half of the skillet, working in batches add the vegetable of your choice ( I used summer squash) and cook until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside
5. Then, add the remaining 1 tbsp. of butter and add the onion and sauté for a minute until softened and then add the garlic, lemon zest, thyme and the orzo. Cook the garlic and toast the orzo for a minute until the garlic and thyme are very fragrant in the pan. Then, (scrape the bottom of pan clean).
6. Next add the broth (and cream, which I omitted) and season with salt and pepper. Stir in your vegetable. Bring everything to a boil stirring the pan well and then place the chicken thighs over the orzo along with the lemon slices. Carefully transfer the dish to the oven and roast for 20 minutes until the chicken is golden and fully cooked through
7. Carefully remove from the oven, remove the chicken and lemon slices and place on a plate.
8. ****For add-ins, stir milk/cream and Parmesan cheese into the risotto, season with salt and pepper if needed and serve with the chicken and lemon slices and garnish with fresh thyme or chopped parsley.***

(From Olive and Mango– She adapted from Saveur and inspired by Half Baked Harvest and I adapted it from Olive and Mango. Visit her for even more mouth-watering recipes!)

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