orzo

A Greek dish made from meat and pasta in tomato sauce. This dish can be prepared with chicken, lamb, and beef, as for the pasta, the orzo (kritharaki) type of pasta is mostly used. Vegetables are mostly onion and garlic, but also carrot, leek, and peppers. The food is seasoned with sea salt, black pepper, oregano, and laurel, sometimes other seasonings such as spices and cinnamon are also used.
I have a tradition of asking friends to bring ideas for local foods from their travels. The idea of this dish was brought to me by Maia-Liisa from her trip to Rhodes in the summer of 2023.

Preparation time: 60 minutes
Level: Easy
Serves: four to six

Ingredients:
300 g of orzo pasta
6 chicken thighs
One 400 ml can of crushed tomatoes
A handful of chopped leeks
Two smaller carrots, grated
One large onion finely chopped
3 medium cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Half a red bell pepper finely chopped
A small pinch of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
0.5 tsp ground black pepper
3 bay leaves
Sea salt
5-6 tablespoons Olive oil for browning chicken and vegetables
About 300 ml of water to add to the food
About 50 g of grana padano or Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

1. Brown the chicken pieces on both sides over medium-high heat until they are nicely golden brown. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Chop onion, garlic, paprika, and slice leek. Grate carrots.
3. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan with a thick bottom and fry the vegetables on medium-high heat. Season with cinnamon, oregano, black pepper, and salt. Add bay leaves. Fry for about 5 minutes until the chicken is browned.
4. Add canned tomatoes and water. Mix well. Taste the mixture and add salt, orzo pasta absorbs a lot of saltiness you can little more salt than usual, but you can always add more salt before serving.
5. Add the orzo pasta and mix well.
6. Place the browned chicken pieces on top of the orzo and vegetable mixture and place the pan in the oven at 190 degrees and cook uncovered for about 45 minutes until the liquid mostly evaporates and the orzo and chicken soften. Some liquid should remain because if standing the pasta will be quite dry because of the water absorbance of the orzo.
7. If the food needs additional seasoning, transfer the chicken pieces to another plate and season the orzo and vegetable mixture. Mix and put the chicken pieces back or put the food together on plates. To serve, grate some grana padano cheese on top and sprinkle with herbs.
   Ready!!