Ingredients
| 2 chicken cutlets (or a mix of drums and thighs) | |
| 2 cloves garlic, minced | |
| grated zest of 1 lemon, plus the juice of ½ lemon | |
| 2 teaspoons oregano, finely chopped | |
| 3 tablespoons olive oil | |
| ½ x 400g can cherry tomatoes | |
| 8-10 olives | |
| 3 silverbeet leaves and stalks, washed | |
| a small knob of butter | |
| 1 small onion, chopped | |
| ½ cup orzo | |
| ¾ cup chicken stock | |
| 50g feta, crumbled |
I always seem to have half a bunch of silverbeet that needs using up. While it’s more likely to end up in a soup, I think it’s really well suited to this lemony orzo with feta. Chicken often accompanies it and I’m quite a fan of Bostock’s chicken cutlets (which are basically the chicken drum attached to the bone-in thigh) although obviously you could just use chicken drums or thigh pieces (skin-on) instead.
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Instructions
| 1. | Pat dry the chicken and marinate in the garlic, half the lemon zest, oregano and 1 tablespoon olive oil for a few hours or overnight (if cooking in the oven put this straight into a baking dish to marinate). |
| 2. | Drain the cherry tomatoes of juice (reserve this and the remaining half can of cherry tomatoes for another use). |
| 3. | Put the cherry tomatoes in a bowl with 1 tablespoon olive oil and the olives. Set aside. |
| 4. | AIR FRYER |
| 5. | Line the basket of an air fryer with baking paper (or use a silicone basket). |
| 6. | Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, and put the pieces skin-side down in the basket for 10 minutes at 180°C. |
| 7. | Flip over the chicken pieces so they are skin-side up and scatter the oiled cherry tomatoes and olives around the chicken and cook for another 15-20 minutes until cooked through. |
| 8. | OVEN |
| 9. | Heat the oven to 200°C. Put the marinated chicken in the oven for 20 minutes with 1⁄2 cup water or stock then scatter around the oiled cherry tomatoes and olives, and cook for another 20-25 minutes until golden brown. |
| 10. | While the chicken cooks, make the silverbeet orzo. |
| 11. | Put the remaining oil and butter in a medium saucepan and heat gently. |
| 12. | Finely chop the silverbeet stalks and fry with the onion and ½ teaspoon salt. |
| 13. | Cook until soft, about 8-10 minutes. |
| 14. | Add the orzo and fry for a minute or until golden. |
| 15. | Shred the silverbeet leaves and add to the pan, stir well until the leaves wilt slightly. |
| 16. | Add the stock and bring up to a simmer, lower the heat and cook, covered, for 10 minutes or until the orzo is cooked and liquid is absorbed. |
| 17. | Fluff up with a fork, stir through the remaining lemon zest, lemon juice and feta. |
| 18. | Spoon a portion of orzo onto each plate and add the chicken and tomatoes. |
Recipes & food styling Ginny Grant Photography Aaron McLean Styling Jessica Crowe