Portions
To serve 4 people I would probably keep the courgettes the same or you could add an extra one but then just add enough chicken thighs for 2 per person. The orzo is 75g per person so you can just adjust that accordingly. To serve 1 simply cut the recipe in half - although I would cook the same amount of chicken as cold roast chicken thighs are delicious and can be used in so many ways the next day.

Parmesan rinds
If you didn’t know this trick about the parmesan (gran padano in this economy, let’s be real) rinds, start saving them ASAP. I have a little bag in my freezer with a stash of rinds and they are so good for throwing in soups and sauces, they just add such a delicious flavour. Amazing in a simple chicken soup, bolognaise, tomato sauce - so many things. Waste not want not and all that. So don’t throw them out. If you don’t have any to hand, just chop the rind of the parmesan you’re using for the recipe and throw that in.

Anchovies
I’ve already banged on about anchovies in the introduction so I won’t repeat myself but if you really do hate anchovies leave them out. I think instead you should add a little crushed garlic. Just because the orzo is rich with the butter and the cheese and you want another dimension so I think crushed garlic would work really well. I was also thinking sun-dried tomatoes would be very nice…or even you could cook some cherry tomatoes in the butter and cook them for a few minutes until they are bursting - I would also add the crushed garlic. Then add the orzo and stick to the recipe and you will have a gorgeous tomato-ey orzo which would work really well with the courgettes and the chicken. Delicious.

Garnish
You know by now that I love a garnish. And the ricotta works so well here, I love it as a combination. Of course it’s optional but I highly recommend. I think mascarpone might be a bit rich here so usually I’m not going to give you an alternative - if you cant find ricotta simply leave it out. The basil, lemon zest and black pepper sound like small things but as I always say, it’s these things that really finish the dish off and make it sing, so don’t leave them out.

Butter and measurements
Butter makes everything better. This will probably be my epitaph. So you will see I added a generous knob of butter to cook the orzo, but you can pull it back a bit and use a little knob and a drizzle of olive oil and you can add as little or as much parmesan as you like. I always include weights for things like parmesan because that’s the “done thing” but just know that in reality I am never weighing stuff like that when I cook. Just grate in whatever you feel like and you will get to know how much you like. Life is too short to weighing stuff that doesn’t need weighing.