Greek inspired Chicken with Orzo

This dish has a bit of a story behind it.  During our first years living in the Middle East, we had a Pizzeria. We had a number of journalists that used to frequent our shop and we became friends with some of them.  During these early years, there was no internet in the area and I was starved to read anything in English.  One day, one of our journalist friends brought me a stack of magazines.  I was in heaven!  Amongst the stack of magazines was “Gourmet” magazine.  The following recipe that I discovered in the magazine became one of our family favorites.  One of the things I love about this recipe is it can be doubled, tripled to serve large crowds. Bon Appetit!

Clean and prepare 8-10 pieces of chicken. I used thighs, but feel free to use any parts you like.

Break up and peel one whole head of garlic.

Using a sharp knife, cut one to two slits in each piece of chicken near the bone.

Place cloves of garlic in the slits.

Juice 4-5 lemons and whisk together with 1/2 cup olive oil and 2 tbsps. oregano

Place chicken in oven safe casserole dish and pour lemon mixture over top

Bake chicken in 325 degree oven for 1 hour.

Cook orzo according to package directions.  Spoon orzo onto serving platter, top with chicken and drizzle some of the sauce over orzo. Sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese and toasted pine nuts.