Friday, December 11, 2009

Vermouthed chicken with Orzo

What can I say, I love the Barefoot Contessa.  Ina's recipes are usually very much on the dot. However yesterday I strayed away. I wanted to make Coq au Vin but my pantry was a bit empty. So I made do with the ingredients I had. And for dinner we had:

Vermouthed chicken with Orzo:

Italian sausage, cut into pieces
Chicken, cut into small pieces,
Salt, black pepper
1 onion, sliced
3 - 4 roasted garlic pods
1/4 cup vermouth
1 cup vegetable stock
a couple of thyme sprigs
Mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup roasted peppers (marinated in vinegar)
1/2 cup diced canned tomatoes
Olive oil

Heat the oil in a pan. Fry the sausage over medium heat, remove to a plate.
Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken pieces in the same oil. Remove.
Add the onions to the pan and stir until they turn translucent. Add the mushrooms and stir till they are slightly browned. Add the vermouth, and then the sausage, chicken. Add the garlic, chicken stock, roasted peppers tomatoes and thyme and cook for about 20 minutes on medium heat.
Meanwhile cook orzo until al dente as directed on the package. Add extra virgin olive oil.
Serve the chicken with the vegetables and orzo, hot. Yum.
I used boneless chicken breast, but the next time on, I will probably go with bone in chicken. And also, capers may be a good idea.