Chicken and Bacon Orzo with Mushrooms

Orzo with chicken, bacon and mushrooms

Sometimes amazing dishes are born out of intense planning and meticulous grocery shopping, while other times I simply look in the fridge and grab whatever looks good. This Chicken and Bacon Orzo with Mushrooms is the latter. I had some beautiful chicken thighs I wanted to cook, but I wanted to try something new. I rummaged through the fridge and found an open package of Cremini mushrooms and some leftover bacon, and a recipe was born. If you’re like me, there’s almost always a bottle of red open on the counter and this recipe just created itself. This recipe comes together quickly and easily but tastes remarkably complex despite that.

The salt and fat in the bacon and crispy chicken skin are beautifully complimented by the red wine and garlic. Crisping the skin before braising it creates an additional depth of flavour that you would not have otherwise. The mushrooms add a beautiful nutty chew to the dish, while the orzo is creamy and smooth in contrast. This beautiful meal has salt, fat, acid and carbs: what more could you want? Try this easy weeknight meal once, and I promise it will become a permanent fixture in your repertoire.

TOTAL TIME

• Preparation Time – 3 minutes
• Cooking Time – 31 minutes
• Total Time – 34 minutes

INGREDIENTS FOR CHICKEN AND BACON ORZO WITH MUSHROOMS

All the ingredients for this Chicken and Orzo dinner are easy to source from any local grocer.

Chicken with Bacon and Mushrooms

• 1 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
• 6 Skin on chicken thighs
• 1 cup Chicken broth
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 1 Shallot
• 3 slices Bacon
• 8 Cremini mushrooms
• 1/4 cup Red wine
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt

Orzo Pasta

• 4 cups Chicken broth
• 3 cups Orzo pasta

WHAT IS ORZO?

Orzo is semolina pasta that is extremely small and cut to look like a grain of rice. Orzo works beautifully when cooked in broth or used in soup. Because it’s so small, it absorbs the liquid it’s cooked in, and develops and almost risotto like consistency in this dish. It cooks quickly and easily, and is a great addition to any pantry.

WHAT ARE CREMINI MUSHROOMS?

Cremini mushrooms, also known as Baby Bellas, are small juvenile Portobello mushrooms. I prefer them to white mushrooms because they impart a beautiful nutty flavour.

CAN I USE OLD WINE?

Often I hear people comment that they have an open bottle that’s starting to go off, so they’ll just use it for cooking. The logic of this fails me. The wine imparts beautiful flavour to this meal, so why would you use a bottle that’s starting to sour? You wouldn’t! That said, you certainly don’t need to buy an expensive bottle specifically for this meal. Simply use something you enjoy the taste of, because that is the flavour that will be imparted to your dish.

INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS

CAN I USE SKINLESS CHICKEN BREASTS?

I wouldn’t suggest using skinless chicken in this recipe. A large part of the texture and flavour in this meal comes from the fat in the crispy chicken skin as it cooks with the bacon, garlic and mushrooms.

CAN I USE RICE INSTEAD OF PASTA?

You could use rice instead of orzo if you wished, but the orzo adds a lovely chew to the dish that wouldn’t be present if you used rice instead.

CAN I USE WHITE WINE INSTEAD OF RED?

If you only have white wine available, you could use it instead of red. It will add the acidity needed in this dish, however it won’t add the depth that red wine will. I would suggest using red wine if you have it, but if not the dish will still work well.

EQUIPMENT FOR CHICKEN AND BACON ORZO

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Below is a list of the main equipment/kitchen tools needed to make Chicken and Bacon Orzo with Mushrooms:

• Braising Pan – My most used pan by far is my Le Creuset Braising Pan. It is made of heavy cast iron and coated in ceramic as all Le Creuset cast iron pans are. It’s large and deep which makes it perfect for everything from frying to making sauces. I can’t recommend it enough.

• Kitchen Knife – Zwilling J.A. Henkel Kitchen Knife a good kitchen knife is a necessary tool for any home cook. Quality and price point varies widely. This is what I use at home. It’s a perfectly decent knife, while still being very affordable.

• Cutting Board

• Large Wooden Spoon

COOKING DIRECTIONS

This Chicken and Bacon with Orzo and Mushrooms comes together in under 35 minutes, and is as easy to make as it is delicious as long as you follow a few rules:

1. Use good quality chicken stock in this recipe, preferably homemade.
2. Use bone in skin on chicken to ensure the maximum flavour in this dish.
3. Always use wine you would drink when cooking. If your wine has gone off, you will taste it in your recipe.

MAKE AHEAD STORAGE

You can make the orzo in advance for this meal, but it will not save you any time since it’s cooked at the same time as the chicken.

This Chicken with Bacon Orzo and Mushrooms will keep in the fridge for up to three days. I would not recommend freezing this meal because reheated orzo will lose it’s integrity and become mushy.

FINISHED DISH

Enjoy this Chicken and Bacon Orzo with Mushrooms!

OTHER ORZO DISHES

Quick and Easy Orzo Pilaf

OTHER BACON DISHES

The BEST Bacon Smash Burger

OTHER CHICKEN DISHES

Apricot Chicken Drumsticks

Delicious Breaded Chicken Pasta

Roasted Chicken with Mushroom Farfel

Flavourful Yoich

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

I’d love to know how it turned out! Please let me know by leaving a comment and rating below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #cooking.with.carbs.

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Delicious chicken orzo with bacon and mushrooms