Roast Chicken with Fennel & Tomato Orzo

Preheat the oven to 240°C.

Rub the chicken with a shot of olive oil and liberally season with fine sea salt. Halve the lemon and stuff into the cavity with a handful of fresh thyme. Place the chicken into a cast iron pot or large roasting tin and roast for 30 mins.

Meanwhile, slice the fennel, dice the onion and thinly slice the garlic.

Coarsely crush the fennel seeds in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder.

Empty the tomatoes into a bowl and crush coarsely with your hands. Add the stock and season with salt and pepper.

Once the chicken has had 30 mins, pull it out of the oven and pop it onto a plate (it’s still not quite cooked yet, so don’t be tempted to have a nibble). Turn the oven down to 190°C.

Cook off the fennel, red onion and fennel seeds in the same pan, in the residual chicken fat with a pinch of salt until softened. Add the garlic and cook for a further few mins.

Now add the orzo, white wine, stock and crushed tomatoes. Stir thoroughly and pop the chicken back on top. Tear the mozzarella into chunks and dot around the chicken.

Chuck the whole lot back in the oven for 30 mins until the chicken is cooked through and the orzo is tender.

Finish with torn parsley leaves and the fennel tops. Don’t forget to grab the lemon out of the chicken and squeeze over the orzo.

Get stuck in.