This is a recipe I normally make with couscous, but since I have orzo instead, I’m going to make it with orzo. It’s a one pot dish that involves putting the bowl of the rice cooker directly on the stove. If you’re not sure if your rice cooker can do that, it’s probably best to start it in another pot.

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I start with half a red onion (use a shallot or two instead if you have them) a clove of garlic* and the zest of a lemon, sauteed in a little olive oil. When they start to brown, I add a few tablespoons of pine nuts and let them toast a little (keep stirring all of this until you add the liquid!), then add a cup of orzo. My pine nuts were already toasted, so I added the orzo right away.

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Then when the orzo started to toast, I turned off the heat and added a cup and a half (you should probably use a bit less) of chicken stock (or water with bouillon*), about a teaspoon of ras el hanout*, the juice of the lemon, and a little salt and pepper. I returned it to the rice cooker, covered it and turned it on.

While making the orzo I was also roasting a spatchcocked lemon rosemary chicken, which came already prepared and just needed to be thawed and baked.

The orzo turned out great. The chicken, though… it’s hard to tell if a chicken is still fresh when it’s already marinated. I went to the trouble of thawing and cooking it and while it looks nice in the photos, it was a little off and I wound up throwing it out and microwaving some grilled chicken breast.

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*store-bought items