This Chicken Orzo is the perfect comfort food. Satisfying flavours of crispy sage, garlic, butter and white wine, balanced with fresh zucchini and spinach.
This Chicken Orzo with Crispy Sage is one of those dinners that is incredibly comforting and can be easily “dressed up” for adults and “dressed down” for children’s tastes. Which is another way, I suppose, of saying we all find it delicious.
It starts with some simple chicken balls, made with chopped onion, garlic and breadcrumbs, that go into a hot oven. While that’s cooking we’ll crisp up our sage in some butter, and then remove the crispy sage from the pan. The remaining butter will be infused with a sage flavour and have a lovely ‘brown butter’ slightly caramelised flavour.
A note on butter - don’t be put off! This recipe uses just 10g per person, which really is not very much (especially when you compare to what is used in restaurants), and does wonders for the flavour profile of the dinner.
We’ll add the remaining garlic and onion to the pan, some white wine (which will reduce quickly, leaving a lovely flavour), and then chicken stock and our orzo, which will take about 8-10 minutes to cook. Add in the spinach and grated zucchini, and by this time the chicken balls will be done, so we’ll place them on top of the risoni. Top with crispy sage and finely grated parmesan and you have a wonderful dinner on your hands.
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Chicken Orzo Ingredients
- Sage
- Garlic
- White onion
- Zucchini
- Chicken mince
- Panko breadcrumbs
- Butter
- White wine
- Risoni (orzo)
- Chicken stock
- Baby spinach
- Parmesan cheese block
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Chicken Orzo
1. Preheat your oven to 200 C and line a baking tray.
2. Pick your sage leaves. Peel and mince garlic. Peel and finely dice onion. Grate zucchini.
- 1 bunch sage
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 white onion
- 1 zucchini
3. Mix chicken mince, half the garlic, half the onion and breadcrumbs in a bowl and roll into balls the size of golf balls. Place on the tray and in the hot oven for 20 minutes.
- 500g chicken mince
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ white onion
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
4. In a deep frying pan, heat butter over medium heat and cook sage for 2-3 minutes until a little crispy. Remove sage from the pan and set aside.
- 40g butter
- 1 bunch sage
5. Add remaining garlic and onion to the frying pan, then once fragrant add white wine and stir until it has reduced (1-2 mins).
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ white onion
- ¼ cup white wine
6. Add risoni (orzo) to the pan with chicken stock, and bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring every few minutes to stop risoni sticking, for 8-10 minutes or until risoni is cooked through.
TIP: If you need more liquid just add water a quarter cup at a time.
- 1.5 cups risoni
- 2.5 cups chicken stock
7. Add grated zucchini and baby spinach leaves and stir through over low heat until spinach is wilted.
- 1 zucchini
- 100g baby spinach
8. To serve, add baked chicken balls to the pan and top with crispy sage leaves and finely grate over parmesan cheese.
Little kids may prefer you to serve their risoni and chicken balls separately, without sage leaves and / or parmesan.
- 50g parmesan cheese block
Substitutions
- Alternative protein - You can use any kind of mince for this dish, or you could also bake pieces of chicken.
- Vegetarian - Use roasted veggies like pumpkin or sweet potato in place of chicken.
- Gluten Free - Replace the Orzo (risoni) with arborio rice, and cook for longer - about 15 minutes and then leave covered for 15 mins.
- Dairy Free - Replace butter with olive oil and skip the parmesan.
Kid-Friendly Variations
- This is one of those dishes that kids love, so there is not a lot to do. If you like you can serve their dinner without sage.
Equipment
You will need an oven, a baking tray, a deep lidded frying pan, a stovetop.
Top tip
You may find you need a bit more liquid for your orzo, and that’s fine, just add a quarter cup at a time.
Recipe
Chicken and Sage Orzo (Risoni)
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking tray
- Deep lidded frying pan
- Stovetop
Ingredients
- 1 bunch sage
- Garlic 2 cloves
- White onion 1
- 1 zucchini
- 500 g chicken mince
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 40 g butter
- ¼ cup white wine
- 1.5 cups risoni (orzo)
- 2.5 cups chicken stock
- 100 g baby spinach
- 50 g parmesan cheese block
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200 C and line a baking tray.
- Pick your sage leaves. Peel and mince 2 cloves of garlic. Peel and finely dice 1 onion. Grate zucchini.1 bunch sage, Garlic, White onion, 1 zucchini
- Mix chicken mince, half the garlic, half the onion and breadcrumbs in a bowl and roll into balls the size of golf balls. Place on the tray and in the hot oven for 20 minutes.Garlic, White onion, 500 g chicken mince, ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- In a deep frying pan, heat butter over medium heat and cook sage for 2-3 minutes until a little crispy. Remove sage from the pan and set aside.40 g butter, 1 bunch sage
- Add remaining garlic and onion to the frying pan, then once fragrant add white wine and stir until it has reduced (1-2 mins).Garlic, White onion, ¼ cup white wine
- Add risoni (orzo) to the pan with chicken stock, and bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring every few minutes to stop risoni sticking, for 8-10 minutes or until risoni is cooked through.TIP: If you need more liquid just add water a quarter cup at a time.1.5 cups risoni (orzo), 2.5 cups chicken stock
- Add grated zucchini and baby spinach leaves and stir through over low heat until spinach is wilted.1 zucchini, 100 g baby spinach
- To serve, add baked chicken balls to the pan and top with crispy sage leaves and finely grate over parmesan cheese.Little kids may prefer you to serve their risoni and chicken balls separately, without sage leaves and / or parmesan.50 g parmesan cheese block
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