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Greek-Style Chicken Orzo with Feta
This recipe works best in a 20cm x 20cm baking dish.
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
- 5 spring onion / scallion
- 1 red bell pepper
- 2 chicken thighs, boneless, skinless
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 200g orzo
- 1 chicken stock cube
- 100g feta
- 15g fresh mint
Method:
Preheat the oven to 210°C, then fill a kettle with water and put it on to boil – we will need this later.
Chop the veg. Remove the roots from 5 spring onions and cut them crossways at 1cm intervals. Deseed 1 pepper and cut it into bite-sized chunks.
Cut up the meat. Cut 2 chicken thighs into bite-sized chunks.
Assemble. Add the veg and chicken to a baking dish. Add 1 tbsp of paprika, 1 tsp of chilli flakes, 1 tsp of oregano and ½ tsp of cinnamon. Drizzle over 2 tbsp of the olive oil, season with a generous pinch of salt and rub everything together. Spread the meat and veg out to 1 even layer. Give your hands a good wash, then get on with the rest of the dish.
Add the orzo. Sprinkle 200g of orzo over the top of the meat and veg, then crumble over 1 stock cube. Add the water. Add 500ml of boiling water from the kettle, season with a pinch of salt and give everything a quick mix.
Cover and bake. Cover tightly with tin foil and bake for 15 minutes, until the orzo is nearly soft. Crack on with a bit of washing up while you wait.
Bake again. Once the orzo is nearly soft, remove the foil and bake for a further 15 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed and the orzo is soft but still has a slight bite.
Serve. Give everything a good mix in the tray, crumble over 100g of feta, rip over the leaves from 15g of mint and serve.
Pancetta and Roast Tomato Risotto
A hearty dish with juicy pancetta & sweet cherry tomatoes cooked together with rice. Finished with a dollop of crème fraîche & cheese.
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
- 140g diced pancetta
- 200g cherry tomatoes
- 200g arborio rice
- 150g crème fraîche
- 50g hard Italian cheese
Method:
Preheat the oven to 210°C and put a kettle on to boil.
Tip 140g of pancetta into a medium roasting tray. Halve 200g of cherry tomatoes and chuck them in too. Spread everything out into one even layer and roast in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until golden in places.
Tip 200g of rice into the tray and give everything a good mix.
Tip 800ml of hot water from the kettle into the tray and give everything another good mix, scraping up any stuck bits of pancetta and tomato from the bottom of the tray as you stir to ensure they are incorporated – this will amp up the flavour!
Season with a generous pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper, then slide the tray back into the oven. Cook for a further 20-22 minutes, making sure to give everything a stir every five minutes, until the rice has absorbed nearly all of the liquid and the grains are soft and plump. Nearly all the liquid should have been absorbed and the grains should be soft and plump. Remove the tray from the oven.
Once the rice is ready, dollop in 150g of crème fraîche and finely grate in 40g of the cheese. Fold everything together and season to taste with salt and pepper if necessary.
Divide the risotto between serving bowls and grate over the remaining 10g of cheese. Tuck in!
Chickpea and Paneer Curry
Get a curry from fridge-to-fork with minimal effort – cook chunks of paneer in a rich, spiced tomato sauce with chickpeas in this tray-bake take.
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
- 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 400g tinned chickpeas
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1.5 tbsp curry powder
- 225g paneer
- 15g fresh coriander
- 250g microwave brown rice
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Assemble the sauce. Tip one 400g tin of tomatoes into a large roasting tray with one undrained 400g tin of chickpeas, 1 tsp of sugar and 1.5 tbsp of curry powder. Season with a generous pinch of salt, then give everything a good mix.
Prep the paneer. Cut one 225g block of paneer into 9-12 even-sized cubes.
Add the paneer. Lay the paneer on top of the other ingredients in the tray.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the paneer is golden and the sauce has reduced by half.
Finely chop 15g of coriander.
Cook the rice. Once the curry has around two minutes to go, microwave the rice as per the manufacturer’s instructions.
Mix it up. Fold ¾ of the coriander through the curry – we will use the rest for garnish. Season again with salt.
Serve. Divide the rice and curry between bowls – scatter over the remaining coriander and serve.
Sausage, Puy Lentil and Leek
If you can’t find a pouch of cooked Puy lentils, feel free to use a drained tin of green lentils for this recipe.
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
- 2 large leeks (approx. 300g each)
- 1 granny smith apple
- 250g microwave Puy lentils
- 0.5 chicken stock cube
- 2 cloves garlic
- 6 pork sausages
- 40g unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Fill a kettle with water and put it on to boil.
Prep the leeks and apple. Cut two leeks in half lengthways and wash them under running water. Slice at 1 cm intervals crossways. Coarsely grate one apple around its core onto the same board.
Assemble. Tip one 250g pouch of lentils into a medium roasting tray. Add the leeks and apple, crumble over ½ a stock cube and add 100ml of water from the kettle.
Mix it up. Grate over two peeled cloves of garlic, season with a pinch of salt and mix everything on the tray.
Add the sausages. Lay the sausages on top of everything and scatter over small knobs from 40g of butter.
Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the sausages are golden brown.
Serve. Divide the traybake between plates and finish with 2 tbsp of mustard.
Ben Ebbrell is a chef and co-founder of Sorted Food, as well as the meal planning app Sidekick.
