Chicken...I mean Lemon Dill Snapper and Orzo — the Amazing Accidental Dish

Hope this gets your mouth watering

So here's the funny story...I took out the piece of chicken in the morning (what I seriously thought was chicken), I mean it was the same exact color, and looking through the plastic bag it was sorta curled up in the size of a chicken breast. Anyways a couple hours later, I go check on my defrosted chicken to marinade. To my surprise it turned out to be a piece of snapper... I'm not usually a huge fish eater, unless it's Japanese cuisine...but sine it was defrosted I wasn't going to waste it. I have nothing against cooked fish, it's just not normally done properly in my house. Most people here prefer over cooked meat of any kind...

Anyways I completely changed what I was intending on making (which was a stuffed chicken bake) and looked around the pantry for something that might go well with the snapper. I found some Orzo pasta, which is sort of like a risotto thingy, but pasta instead of rice. It turned out to be a very nice dish.

Here's what I used for the ingredients:

For Snapper
2 pieces of "Chicken" haha Snapper
Couple sprigs of fresh Dill
1/2 small Lemon
Kosher Salt and Pepper
1 tbsp Grapeseed Oil

For Orzo
4 small Potatoes (I had a bag of mini red/yellow/purple potatoes)
1 teaspoon Oregano
Kosher Salt and pepper to taste1 small white Onion
2 Garlic cloves minced
2 teaspoons Paprika
1 tbsp Cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
Bunch of fresh Dill
1 Carrot diced
3 cups Orzo pasta
Water/broth on hand (add accordingly...no set amount)


 [Prepping Snapper]:
1) Chope 2-3 slices of lemon, and throw in hot pan with a bit of grapeseed or olice oil
2) Once browned and caramelized, take out and set aside
3) Season snaper with salt and pepper, rub fresh dill over fish
2) Fry in pan on each side until brown, squeeze some lemon juice onto fish
3) Take out once cooked and set aside, with lemon slices and dill atop

[Prepping Orzo]:
1) Mix chopped potatoes in bowl with olive oil, oregano, and Kosher salt and pepper
2) Fry Onions, when sweated and starting to turn a bit brown add Paprika, Cumin, Turmeric, Fresh dill and Garlic into hot pan (don't burn garlic or onions-adjust heat accordingly)
3) Take out everything from pan and set aside
4) Take potatoes and carrots, fry in pan until golden brown
5) Add Onions and garlic back into pan, and also put in the dry orzo pasta
6) Mix and coat orzo over medium heat for about 2 minutes
7) Start adding water, or broth into pan (a couple ladles at a time) Each time let the pasta absorb the liquid before adding more
8) Keep this process going until the pasta is cooked to your liking
9) Salt and pepper to taste
10) Enjoy!

Gratuitous Orzo close-up

Gratuitous Snapper close-up

This orzo is super rich tasting, and complements the light fish. Dill is quickly becoming one of my favorite herbs to cook with. I used to only enjoy it on chips! Anyways I hope you give this a try. It is super easy to make, and will surely give the impression that you can cook, even though you only need some patience to watch it closely. That is the key.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and until next time...enjoy an rock on!

Sam