Can I Cook The Chicken In A Pot On Top Of The Stove?

Our answer

Nigella's Chicken In A Pot With Lemon And Orzo (from COOK, EAT, REPEAT) braises a whole chicken in a deep casserole dish (Dutch oven) in the oven and then adds orzo towards the end of the cooking time. The orzo cooks in the stock that has been generated in the pot, absorbing lots of flavour.

We suspect that it is possible to cook the dish on the stove top. You would need to make sure that the chicken does not boil but poaches gently in its pot. So once the liquid comes to the boil, turn the heat down to low, put on the lid and cook at a very gentle simmer. It may help to put a cartouche — a piece of baking parchment (parchment paper) over the top of the pot — before adding the lid. This will help to reduce the amount of steam escaping from the pot as the chicken cooks. Make sure that you trim away any excessive overhang of paper, so that there is no chance of it touching the burners on the stove top or hob. The chicken is likely to take 1¼ to 1½ hours to cook (depending on size) and avoid boiling the chicken as it can make the meat tough and stringy. Check that the chicken is cooked through by piercing the thickest part of the thigh. The juices should run clear without any traces of blood. If the chicken is not cooked thoroughly then simmer for another 10 minutes and check again. Once the chicken has cooked, remove it from the pot and put it on a plate in a warm draft-free place. Turn up the heat so that the stock is boiling, add the orzo, turn the heat down to a simmer again, cover and cook for around 10 minutes or until the pasta is soft. Check the pot halfway through and add a little water from a freshly-boiled kettle if it looks like there is not enough liquid to cook the pasta. If you want to present the whole dish at the table, return the chicken to the pot and nestle it into the orzo before serving.