I have been meaning to make Orzo for a long while now but kept putting it off until recently. When I went last for my usual shopping stroll, I made sure to buy a small packet of Orzo.

Orzo is a rice shaped Pasta which is made of wheat semolina and is an Italian speciality. I had no idea of how to go about making Orzo dishes and started searching for the same. I came across this recipe which looked simple, straightforward and something which I could relate to in terms of ingredients. I bought the necc. contents and started my process.

But one hitch was that, I find it hard to consume food without my usual servings of vegetables. I need them in every meal. I had no desire to make a side dish since I was not sure what side dish would go well with orzo, so I went ahead and twisted Heather's recipe to suit my palate and came up with the one below. It tasted awesome and my special thanks to Heather for inspiring me for this dish.



But one hitch was that, I find it hard to consume food without my usual servings of vegetables. I need them in every meal. I had no desire to make a side dish since I was not sure what side dish would go well with orzo, so I went ahead and twisted Heather's recipe to suit my palate and came up with the one below. It tasted awesome and my special thanks to Heather for inspiring me for this dish.

  • Cook time:
  • Prep time:
  • Yields: Serves 2 - 4 ppl
Ingredients
  • 1 and 1/2 cups of Orzo ( 1 cup is sufficient for 2 )
  • 1/2 cup pearl onions
  • 1 carrot, chopped into small cubes
  • 1/4 cups of Peas
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2-3 tbsp red bell pepper, chopped into small pieces
  • 2-3 button mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning
  • few springs of Basil,rosemary and Parsley
  • 4 medium sized bell peppers
  • salt and a pinch of lemon zest (optional)to taste
  • 1 tbsp toasted pine nuts (optional)
Method
1.

Saute the onions in a tbsp of butter ( /olive oil) till soft. Add carrots, garlic and peas and saute for 2-3 min more. Add salt to help them to cook faster.

2.

Add the orzo along and saute them for 3-4 min more.

3.

Add about 2 - 2 1/4 cups water or vegetable stock and cook for 5-6 min with the lid on. Once 80% cooked, that is Orzo would have absorbed most of the water, add the herbs, lemon zest , italian seasoning, red bell pepper and mushrooms and mix well. Let it cook for another 5 -8 min till all the water has been absorbed and Orzo is cooked thouroughly.

4.

Garnish with basil and parmesan and serve.

5.

It tastes heavenly. But I was in some jolly good mood so I went ahead and cut the top of 4 bell peppers and deseeded them

6.

I blanched them for few min in boiling water and set them in a pan.

7.

I filled them with the Orzo along with pine nuts, topped them with parmesan and kept them in the Oven at 200F for 5 min till the cheese melted.

8.

This recipe was v tasty and Orzo is sure going to be a regular visitor to my pantry.

Related Posts

Herbed Wheat Orzo Pilaf By DK on Oct 23, 2009
Tiramisu By DK on Feb 27, 2010
Italian Cannoli By DK on Nov 27, 2009

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By ashwini on Nov 22, 2011

Well as per this recipe I didn't had Italian seasoning on hand so I added desi style subji masala, boy oh boy this dish was amazing and sure it's  gonna be a permanent dish here after at home, and also the peppers after blanching it turns out sweet n with this orzo it's tastes soo good loved it. Thanks for the recipes CHEF ☺

18 Comments

By giz on Apr 26, 2008

Orzo is such a satisfying pasta - you can deceive yourself into thinking you're eating rice while eating pasta. This would be a super entry for Presto Pasta Roundup

By Namratha on Apr 26, 2008

Very colourful and appealing Dhivya..yum!

By easycrafts on Apr 26, 2008

Just now saw kalai's dish with orzo and here u are with another delicious one

By Kalai on Apr 25, 2008

Hi Dhivi. Just wanted to confirm that you got my entry for AWED. :)

By Uma on Apr 25, 2008

looks so good. yum!

By Madhavi on Apr 24, 2008

This looks divine, mouth-watering!!!

By ranji on Apr 24, 2008

never tried orzo but am really drooling here looking at the photos .:)..looks really delicious!!!

By Lisa on Apr 24, 2008

Sounds like a delicious recipe. I have never cooked with orzo, but you inspire me to give it a try.

By Divya Vikram on Apr 24, 2008

the orzo look cute sitting inside the bell peppers!

By Kalai on Apr 24, 2008

I love love love orzo!! Wonderful idea to use it to stuff peppers, Dhivi! You rock! :)

By Mansi Desai on Apr 24, 2008

these look gorgeous DK! I made this too, albeit with gravy:0 will post them soon!

By Siri on Apr 24, 2008

u finally made it..:) I never made Orzo, looks delish!! ..stuffing orzo into bell peppers is a great idea!!

Siri

By Rajitha on Apr 24, 2008

delicious looking as-usual :)

By Pearlsofeast on Apr 24, 2008

Wonderful and very colorful dish. DK it is very very tempting!!!!!!!

Nice pictures.

By Arundathi on Apr 24, 2008

I just made a bell pepper stuffed with rice a couple of days ago, and I must say that your photos are so much better - in mine the peppers seemed to be attacking the rice! :) lol

Love Orzo - and it must be delicious with pinenuts and parmesan. mmmm.

By Arundathi on Apr 24, 2008

I made a bell pepper stuffed with rice just a couple of days ago - and your photos are so much better! mine look like the peppers are attacking the rice! lol!!
Love Orzo too - must be fabulous with parmesan and pinenuts! Mmmm

By sunita on Apr 24, 2008

dk, that looks beautiful :-)

By Nags on Apr 24, 2008

there are some left over bell peppers in the fridge. maybe i can ask amma to make them :D