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1
Heat oven to 350.
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2
Put wild rice in small saucepan and cover by 3 inches with water.
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3
Bring to a boil.
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4
Cover pan with lid slightly ajar, and simmer until almost completely cooked.
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5
18-20 minutes will do and the rice will be chewy and swollen, some may burst open.
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6
Drain and set aside.
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7
Rinse thighs and dry.
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8
Season with salt and black pepper.
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9
Heat olive oil in a large fry pan over medium-high heat.
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10
Brown chicken in batches until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side.
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11
Chicken will not be fully cooked.
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12
Set it aside.
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13
Remove pan from heat and allow it to cool a bit.
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14
Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the chicken fat.
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15
Return fry pan to medium-high heat and add butter.
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16
When it foams, add red onion and generous pinch of salt.
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17
Stir to coat onion with butter and cook until soft.
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18
Add celery and carrot, stirring occasionally for about 3 minutes.
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19
Season with salt and pepper.
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20
Add orzo and stir to coat well with the oil, about 4 minutes.
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21
Add 1/4 cup of the wine and stir for about 1 minute.
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22
Add mushrooms and 1/2 cup of wine and stir another minute or so.
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23
Add wild rice and chicken broth.
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24
Bring to a simmer.
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25
Cook, stirring often about 5 minutes.
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26
The mixture will be very soupy.
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27
Stir in the cream and sherry.
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28
Remove from heat.
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29
Pour into 9x13 baking dish or divide among baking dishes leaving room for the chicken.
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30
Nestle the chicken into the pans.
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31
Bake until orzo and chicken are cooked, about 45-50 minutes.
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32
Remove from oven.
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33
If packaging, remove chicken to make packaging easier.
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34
Small place orzo mixture in container and top with 1 thigh.
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35
Large place orzo mixture in container and top with 4 thighs.
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36
Refrigerate or freeze depending on how close it is to delivery date.
