Vibrant Orzo with Roasted Veggies
Orzo is a variety of pasta that looks like rice. It’s especially popular in Greece and Italy, where it’s used for hot, comforting dishes, cool salads and almost anything in between! We use the Agrozimi Spelt Orzo we carry at Pinwheel, which has a little more body and texture than regular wheat orzo and is more digestible, but you can use regular orzo pasta too.
This recipe is full of bright flavors and color and so satisfying as a main or side dish- great served hot or used as a refreshing room temp salad on a warm day. This can be a vegetarian dish, or you can add canned tuna (we recommend an Italian variety in olive oil for the best flavor) for a heartier dish. Make more than you need; it makes a great leftovers!
Serves: 4 as a light main dish Cooking time: 12-15 min.
Ingredients
1 package Agrozimi Orzo with Spelt
1 cup frozen fire roasted pepper & onion strips
1 cup frozen peas
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1 big handful of parsley, chopped
Handful of fresh cherry tomatoes, halved
⅛-¼ cup Feta cheese to sprinkle over top
Olive oil
Salt
pepper
Optional Ingredients
1 cup frozen peas
Olives, green or black pitted
¼ cup pine nuts, roasted very briefly in a skillet or toaster oven
1 can tuna fish in oil
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil in a stockpot for the pasta
- While waiting for the pasta water to boil, saute the garlic clove with 1 Tbsp olive oil at medium heat just until it starts to color a little bit; add the frozen roasted eggplant and roasted pepper and onion strips and saute until they soften and start to brown. Then add the peas, if using, and cook another minute. Should take no more than 5 min. total.
- When the pasta water comes to a boil, add the orzo and follow the cooking time recommendation on the package. We usually add a glug of olive oil to the pasta water too.
- When the pasta is ready & drained (reserve a little pasta water if you want a creamier sauce), add .5 jar of the bright, herby Tomato & Thyme sauce and heat through quickly; add the reserved pasta water for a more diluted sauce if you prefer. Then transfer the pasta to a serving bowl and add the veggies, tomato, olives, pine nuts, and drained tuna (if using). Toss and taste for seasoning, adding salt, pepper and a dash of olive oil as desired.
- Top with feta & parsley and serve.
