I don’t know about you but when I tend to get the rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, there’s only so much chicken soup a gal can take. I’m always on the lookout for great ideas for what to do with the leftover chicken and, I recently saw a great recipe for Roast Chicken Pancetta and Mushroom Orzo that gave me some inspiration on how to add a little za za zu factor to the leftover rotisserie chicken that was taking up valuable real estate in my fridge.
This dish was so simple, packed with flavor and will be on the menu again. I originally planned on starting off with shallots the recipe called for but, when cooking the bacon, I knew that the shallots might be overwhelmed by all of the flavors that would be taking up residence in the braiser and quickly swapped in the onion. With a few changes, this Roasted Chicken Orzo is an easy weeknight meal that will fast become a family favorite.
What do you do with leftover rotisserie chicken?
Gather the ingredients
Sautéing the Mushrooms, Onions and Garlic
Time to Toast the Orzo
Top with a bit of bacon and shaved Asiago and enjoy!
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Ingredients
- 4-5 slices of thick cut bacon, diced
- 1 medium Vidalia onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 small container of baby bella button mushrooms, quartered
- 1 lb. orzo
- 2 springs of thyme, leaves removed
- 4 cups of chicken stock
- 2 cups of rotisserie chicken, shredded
- Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper to taste
- Asiago or Parmesan Cheese for serving
Instructions
- Over medium heat, in a heavy bottomed dutch oven or braiser, cook the bacon until crisp.
- Remove the bacon and set aside. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat.
- Add the onions to the bacon fat and cook until translucent.
- Add the garlic and thyme, sauteing for 1 minute.
- To the onion and garlic mixture, add the quartered baby bella mushrooms and cook for 3 – 5 minutes.
- Add the orzo to the pan and toast the orzo for a minute in the oil along with the onion and mushroom mixture.
- Add the chicken stock to cover the orzo mixture, making sure to pull up any brown bits from the pan.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce heat to simmer.
- Simmer gently for 10 minutes or so until the orzo is tender.
- Add the chicken and heat through.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve topped with a bit of the reserved bacon and some shaved Asiago or Parmesan cheese and enjoy!
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