One-pot Roast Chicken with Orzo

Name: One-pot Roast Chicken with Orzo
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 6 serving(s)
Ingredients: 2 tbsp. olive oil; 1 medium whole chicken, about 1.7kg; 2 carrots, cut into 1.5cm pieces; 1 leek, finely sliced; 2 celery sticks, sliced; 100 g pancetta lardons; 1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges; 1 tarragon sprig, plus extra leaves, chopped, to garnish; 500 mL hot chicken stock; 300 orzo pasta

Make sure to buy a free-range bird here – you’ll be rewarded with better flavour in the meat as well as the pasta, as it absorbs the juices.

By The Good Housekeeping Cookery TeamUpdated: 25 March 2024

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preview for One-pot roast chicken with orzo and pancetta

This one-pot roast chicken with orzo is one of the nicest Sunday lunch dishes you'll come across. It has a beautiful fragrant flavour from the tarragon and a lovely salty, meaty taste from the pancetta, too.

When serving, if you prefer you can carefully transfer the cooked chicken to a platter and spoon the orzo around it before serving.

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Yields:

6 serving(s)

Prep Time:

30 mins

Cook Time:

1 hr 30 mins

Total Time:

2 hrs

Cal/Serv:

677

Ingredients

2 Tbsp.
olive oil
1
medium whole chicken, about 1.7kg
2
carrots, cut into 1.5cm pieces
1
leek, finely sliced
2
celery sticks, sliced
100 g
pancetta lardons
1
lemon, cut into 6 wedges
1
tarragon sprig, plus extra leaves, chopped, to garnish
500 ml
hot chicken stock
300
orzo pasta

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 190°C (170°C fan) mark 5. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a casserole dish (that has a lid) that will hold the chicken with some space around it. Untruss the chicken and brown in the casserole, breast down, until breast is golden. Remove chicken to a board.
2 Add carrots, leek, celery and pancetta to the dish and cook for 5min, until beginning to brown. Stir in lemon wedges, tarragon sprig and plenty of seasoning. Return chicken to the casserole dish, breast up. Pour in enough stock to come halfway up the sides of the chicken. Bring to the boil.
3 Cover with the lid and cook in the oven for 50min. Carefully remove lid, scatter the orzo around the chicken, making sure the orzo is submerged in the stock, re-cover with the lid and return to the oven for 20min. Check the chicken is cooked; a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast should read 72°C or higher.
4 Carefully transfer the casserole dish to a board and leave to rest for 10min. Scatter over chopped tarragon and serve.