Ingredients

• 1 x Whole chicken

• 1 x Medium carrot - for the chicken stock

• 2 x Medium onions - for the chicken stock

• 3 x Tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 x Cup Orzo pasta - Risoni pasta would work well

• 1 x Cup Jasmine rice

• 2 x Teaspoons dried sage

• 2 x Teaspoons dried thyme

• 1/2 x Cup raisins - important for texture

• 2 x Cups best home made chicken stock - see notes

• 1/2 x Teaspoon black pepper

• 1 x Teaspoon Aleppo chilli peppers - see note

• 1/2 x Teaspoon sea salt - optional

• 2 x Medium onions - finely diced to add with the tomatoes

• 4 x Medium tomatoes, boiled and chopped preserving the juice or 1 x Tin unsalted diced tomatoes

Preparation

Place the chicken, carrot and onions in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to boil then simmer for 30 minutes until the chicken is falling of the bones. Allow to cool then remove the poached chicken pieces and set aside.

You will now have a chicken carcass ready for a lovely Home Chef stock. Wonderful !

Next in a large saucepan melt the butter and add the orzo pasta, stirring until just starting to turn golden brown. About 4 minutes.

Then add the rice, stock, raisins, sage, thyme and aleppo pepper to the pan, bring to boil then turn heat back to low, fuly cover and cook for 20 minutes then remove from heat and allow to sit with lid on for 15 minutes. Important when doing this you preserve as much of the steam as possible.

In a seperate pan with a little olive oil, caramelise the onions, add a little butter if you like then stir in the tomatoes

Now add the tomatoes, salt, pepper and half the poached chicken pieces (add more chicken if you wish) gently stirring to allow the tomatoes, onion and chicken to join with the orzo, rice and spices to be ready for serving.

Important: As with all such recipes, a quality home made chicken stock is essential. Best to avoid the cardboard stocks from the supermarket. To make your own stock go to Recipes Stocks

Comments: (1) The raisins, typically Turkish, are important for the texture of the dish. (2) The aleppo pepper is quite mild and adds amazing flavour - to buy go to SPICES