Chicken Yiouvetsi

Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

8 chicken thighs

Salt and pepper

½ tbsp sweet paprika

Extra virgin olive oil, for marinating, browning and coating the pasta

300g orzo pasta

400g tin crushed tomatoes

1 tsp tomato paste

4 cloves garlic (whole)

500ml chicken stock

A handful of fresh basil leaves

To Serve

Mizithra cheese, freshly grated

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

In a large bowl, marinate the chicken thighs in olive oil, sweet paprika, salt, and pepper. Add some olive oil to a large saucepan and brown the chicken. Once browned, remove them and allow them to rest.

In the same pan, add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, water, garlic, stock and basil leaves, and bring it all together.

In a separate pot, bring the water to a boil, add ½ tsp of salt, and cook the orzo according to the packet instructions.

Add the chicken thighs into the tomato sauce, bring to a boil, then simmer for about 30 min.

Once the orzo has cooked, drain it and run it under cold water. Complete the orzo mix by stirring through some olive oil to ensure the pasta is well coated.

Combine the drained pasta with the chicken and cover with wet baking paper before transferring to the oven and cooking for a further 30-45 minutes, until the chicken is tender. Alternatively, you can cook this on the stove for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the oven or stove, grate mizithra cheese on top, and serve hot.