Chicken in a Pot with Lemon and Orzo

1 chicken, approximately 3 ½ pounds 3 fat cloves of garlic

2 medium carrots

2 medium leeks (white parts only) 1 tablespoon olive oil

2 lemons

2 teaspoons dried tarragon (or dried

thyme)

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper

flakes

6 cups cold water

1 ½ cups orzo pasta

1⁄3 cup finely chopped Italian

parsley, plus more to serve Freshly grated Parmesan, to serve

Instructions: Untruss the chicken, if it comes trussed, and remove string. Let it stand on a cutting board for 40 minutes. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel the garlic cloves, and peel and cut the carrots into three lengths across and then into sticks. Wash the leeks and cut into 1-inch rounds

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven (large enough for the whole bird) with a tightly fitting lid. Place chicken in the hot oil, breast-side down, to color the skin, about 3-5 minutes, or until richly golden. Turn chicken breast-side up.

Take the pan off the heat and, aiming for the space around the chicken, finely grate the zest from the 2 lemons, then grate or mince in the garlic, add the tarragon or thyme and give a quick stir into the oil as best you can.

Scatter the vegetables around the chicken, followed by salt and red pepper flakes, and squeeze in the juice from your zested lemons.

Pour the cold water — covering all but the very top of the breast — and put back on high heat and bring to a boil. Once it’s bubbling, clamp on the lid and carefully transfer to the oven to cook for 1¼ hours. Check to make sure the chicken is all but cooked through and the carrots soft.

Take the pot out of the oven and add the orzo all around the chicken and push it under the liquid. Put the lid back on and return to oven for another 15 minutes, by which time the orzo should be soft and swollen.

Let the Dutch oven stand, uncovered, out of the oven for 15 minutes before serving. The orzo will continue to soak up the broth as it stands. While waiting, chop parsley. Stir in ¼ cup, and then sprinkle over a little more.

To serve: Bring to the table whole. Or gently pull chicken apart with forks, removing any bones and skin that come loose. Stir the chicken and orzo in the pot and then spoon into bowls, sprinkling with more of the parsley.

Makes 4-6 servings

From “Cook, Eat, Repeat: Ingredients, Recipes, and Stories” by Nigella Lawson

Jonathan Lovekin