Stuffed Greek chicken with cayenne, oregano and orzo

The perfect recipe for a Sunday lunch, with everything you need all in one dish. You have double carbs – orzo and stuffing – but it works: the bread becomes deliciously soft and soggy with the juices from the tomatoes.

SERVES SIX INGREDIENTS

1.8kg chicken

75g feta cheese, crumbled 115g tomatoes, chopped 75g coarse country bread, torn into small pieces

4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to drizzle

2 garlic cloves, finely grated 3 tsp dried oregano ½ tsp cayenne pepper 225g orzo

500ml boiling chicken stock 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves, or chopped leaves from four oregano sprigs Green salad, to serve

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200C/190C fan/Gas 6. Put the chicken into an ovenproof dish – I use a cast-iron one – which is 30cm in diameter. Mix the feta, tomatoes bread, olive oil, garlic, half the dried oregano and some seasoning in a bowl. Stuff this into the chicken cavity.

Rub the chicken – breast and legs – with the cayenne, sprinkle with the rest of the dried oregano, then season the bird and drizzle it with olive oil.

Roast in the oven for 50 minutes.

Sprinkle the orzo around the chicken and pour on the boiling stock. Return to the oven for a final 20 minutes. Check during this time to make sure the orzo isn’t becoming dry: there should be enough stock in it, but top it up with a little boiling water if it’s needed.

The chicken should be cooked: check by piercing it deeply between the leg and body, the juices that run out should be clear, with no traces of pink. The orzo should be tender and the stock should have been absorbed.

Stir the fresh chopped herbs into the orzo and serve the chicken straight from the dish. A green salad is all you need on the side.