Chicken, Bacon and Leek Orzo
This chicken, bacon and leek orzo is super hearty, simple to make and oozes comfort!
Servings: 4
Cost: £3 / $4
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Large Deep Saucepan & Wooden Spoon
- Slotted Spoon (for removing bacon)
- Tongs (for chicken)
- Aluminium Foil (for resting chicken)
- Jug (for stock)
- Fine Cheese Grater (for parmesan)
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2x 200g/7oz Chicken Breasts
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1/2 tsp EACH: Salt, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
- Olive Oil, as needed
Orzo
- 220g / 7.8oz Streaky Bacon, diced (see notes)
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 2 medium/large Leeks, dark green part removed then finely diced
- 2 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
- 3-4 sprigs of Fresh Thyme
- 400g / 2 cups uncooked Orzo (see notes)
- 1 litre / 4 cups Chicken Stock, or as needed
- 240ml / 1 cup Double/Heavy Cream, leave at room temp
- 2 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1/8 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 40g / 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more to serve if desired
- 4 Lemon Wedges, to serve
Instructions
- Horizontally slice both chicken breasts right through the centre to create 4 even-sized breasts, then coat both sides in the seasoning. Place to one side.
- Add the bacon to a large, deep saucepan with the heat off. Turn the heat to medium and fry the bacon until crisp with the fat rendered out. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon and place to one side, leaving the excess fat in the pan.
- Top the pan up with oil if there's less than a tbsp or so of fat (just eyeball it), then raise the heat slightly to medium-high. Add the chicken and fry both sides for around 3 minutes until lightly charred on the outside and just about cooked through the centre. Remove and place on a plate to one side, then loosely cover with foil to keep warm.
- Melt the butter in the pan, then add the leeks, garlic and thyme. Sweat the leeks right down until they're nicely soft and golden (lower the heat if you need to). Stir in the uncooked orzo, pour in the stock and cream, then stir in the mustard and nutmeg. Simmer until the orzo is cooked through and the sauce thickens to a risotto-style consistency (it thickens more as it rests). Give a good stir now and then. If the sauce dries up before the orzo cooks, just add in more stock (or boiling water) as needed.
- Stir in the resting juices from the chicken, then stir in the parmesan and bacon. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Plate up the orzo (removing the thyme stalks as and when you find them) with the chicken thinly sliced on top. Serve with extra parmesan and lemon juice to taste. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
a) Bacon - I recommend using streaky bacon (aka regular bacon in the US) because it is fattier than back bacon. That way, you can use the excess fat to fry the chicken and recycle the flavour. I typically use unsmoked bacon, but you can use smoked it you prefer.
b) Orzo - You'll find this in most supermarkets. Different brands might absorb different amounts of liquid. It's unlikely you'll have too much, especially since it thickens up quite quickly as you plate up. But if you need more, just stir in a splash of stock or boiling water as needed, as you would a risotto.
c) Lemon - This really brightens up the dish at the end and brings everything together. I highly recommend adding this (just work to taste).
d) Calories - Whole recipe divided by 4 with no extra oil or parmesan.
Nutrition
Calories: 1016kcal | Carbohydrates: 91.27g | Protein: 42.61g | Fat: 54.76g | Saturated Fat: 19.64g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.663g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9.704g | Trans Fat: 0.321g | Cholesterol: 167mg | Sodium: 1789mg | Potassium: 1015mg | Fiber: 12.2g | Sugar: 4.99g | Vitamin A: 2390IU | Vitamin C: 6.5mg | Calcium: 186mg | Iron: 3.45mg