Lemon-Olive Chicken with Orzo

Back in Hartford, back in the cold, back in the kitchen that is mine the way the island kitchen was Mami's — the headquarters, the command center, the place where I am most myself. The return from Bayamón always takes a few days to settle — the body adjusting to the cold, the heart adjusting to the distance, the hands finding their rhythm again in a kitchen that is the same kitchen I left but that feels different because I am different, because five days on the island rearranges something inside me every time, repositions the compass needle toward the place I came from.

Jenny is four months pregnant now. She is showing — a small curve under her sweater that she touches the way pregnant women touch, unconsciously, the hand finding the belly the way my hand finds the salt, automatically, by instinct, by the body knowing what the body needs. Miguel Jr. said the baby is healthy. Everything is progressing normally. Due date is July 15th. I have already begun the meal plan — the postpartum meals, the containers of arroz con pollo and caldo de pollo and habichuelas that I will bring to their house every day for two weeks because a woman who has just given birth needs to eat and she needs to eat food that was made with love and not ordered from a phone.

At the hospital, February is the slowest month — fewer admissions, fewer visitors, the cafeteria quiet in the way that hospitals are quiet in February, which is not peaceful quiet but waiting quiet, the building holding its breath between flu season and spring. I used the quiet to reorganize the walk-in refrigerator, which is a task that gives me an unreasonable amount of satisfaction because organization is a form of control and control is a form of love and a well-organized walk-in refrigerator is a love letter to the food it holds.

I made asopao on Saturday — the Puerto Rican rice soup that is thicker than soup and thinner than stew and exists in the space between, which is the space where all the best things live. Chicken asopao, with olives and capers and pimientos and enough rice that the spoon can stand up in the bowl, which is the correct consistency and the only consistency. I brought some to Mami. She ate it without speaking, but she ate all of it, and the eating was the speaking.

The asopao I made on Saturday was Mami’s recipe, the one I carry in my hands more than in my head, and I won’t pretend this lemon-olive chicken with orzo is the same thing — it isn’t, and nothing is. But when the post-trip restlessness still had its hands on me and I needed something that moved in the same direction as asopao — the brininess of the olives, the warmth of the broth, the way chicken and a starch can settle a person who needs settling — this is the recipe I reached for on a Tuesday night, when I needed to cook but didn’t need the full ceremony. It is not a replacement. It is a neighbor.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 lbs)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup pitted green olives, roughly chopped
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 cup orzo pasta
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes, drained
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Instructions

Season and sear. Pat chicken thighs dry and season both sides with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken skin-side down and sear without moving for 6–7 minutes until the skin is deep golden. Flip and cook 3 minutes more. Transfer to a plate.
Build the base. Reduce heat to medium. In the same pan, add the diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
Add olives and tomato. Stir in the chopped olives, diced tomatoes, and lemon zest. Cook for 2 minutes, letting the flavors begin to come together in the pan.
Add orzo and broth. Pour in the chicken broth and stir in the orzo. Bring to a gentle boil, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Nestle and simmer. Return the chicken thighs to the pan, skin-side up, pressing them gently into the orzo and broth. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 18–20 minutes until the orzo is tender and the chicken is cooked through (internal temperature of 165°F).
Finish with lemon. Remove from heat. Squeeze the lemon juice over everything, taste for salt, and scatter the fresh parsley on top before serving directly from the pan.

Nutrition (per serving)

Lemon-Olive Chicken with Orzo — The Asopao I Carry Home With Me