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🍗 Chicken & poultry

Golden chicken thighs on creamy leek orzo with peas & pancetta

Crispy skin on top, creamy lemony orzo underneath

⏱️ Time estimate: about 50 minutes

Chicken thighs roast over leeks, lemon, herbs, and wine, then go back into the pan with orzo, peas, stock, pancetta, parmesan rind, and crème fraîche.

Golden roasted chicken thighs over creamy leek orzo with peas

Ingredients

  • Olive oil
  • 3 leeks, rinsed and chopped
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced
  • 1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs, or rosemary, thyme, sage, and oregano
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
  • 150 milliliters white wine
  • 4 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin-on
  • About 150 grams peas
  • Parmesan rind
  • 150 grams pancetta, cubed
  • 200 grams orzo
  • 350 milliliters chicken stock
  • 2 tablespoons crème fraîche, plus more for serving if you want
  • Salt and pepper
  • Fresh parsley, to serve

Instructions

  1. Start the roast. Heat the oven to 180°C fan or 200°C conventional. In a large ovenproof pan, combine the leeks, lemon zest and juice, dried herbs, garlic, and white wine. Season well with salt and pepper.
  2. Add the chicken. Arrange the chicken thighs on top, skin side up. Season them with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil, then roast for 40 minutes.
  3. Add the orzo. Remove the pan from the oven and set the chicken aside. Stir the peas, orzo, chicken stock, and parmesan rind into the leek mixture. Nestle the chicken back on top and scatter the pancetta over everything.
  4. Finish roasting. Return the pan to the oven for about 15 minutes, until the orzo is tender and the stock has mostly absorbed.
  5. Make it creamy. Set the chicken aside once more, stir the crème fraîche into the orzo, then spoon the orzo into bowls.
  6. Serve. Top with a chicken thigh, fresh parsley, and an extra dollop of crème fraîche if you feel like being a little luxurious.