Summer Orzo with Tomatoes and Courgette

Published by

Jasmine

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Today I’m sharing a quick and easy recipe that showcases some of my favourite seasonal vegetables for summer before they disappear. You really don’t have to do that much to fresh, in-season, high-quality produce, and this is a perfect example of that…

INGREDIENTS

Vegetables and orzo:

Courgette

Cherry tomatoes

Spinach

Parsley

Orzo pasta

Aromatics and flavour:

Olive oil + butter (you can use just one or the other, but I find that combining both makes a creamy orzo)

Sun-dried tomato paste (you can swap this for normal tomato paste or finely-chopped sun-dried tomatoes)

Chilli flakes

Garlic

Red onion

Vegetable stock cube

Parmigiano Reggiano (or Pecorino or a rennet-free Italian hard cheese)

Lemon juice

Toppings:

Pine nuts

Watercress (rocket also works, or even basil)

TIPS & NOTES

This is a really easy recipe so I don’t want to overcomplicate or over-explain it! One thing to bear in mind is that you can add a little less stock for a firmer orzo and the more often you stir it, the more starch will be released and the creamier the final sauce will get (kind of like a risotto). I like to sauté everything at the start to get as much flavour as possible.

Summer Orzo

  • Servings: 2-3
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

A simple one-pot orzo that makes the most of seasonal produce

No special equipment or advance prep needed


Ingredients

  • 150g of orzo pasta
  • 1 small red onion / 1/2 a medium one (sliced into thin semi-circles)
  • 2 garlic cloves (crushed, grated or finely chopped)
  • 150g of cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
  • 1 medium courgette (cut into semi-circles)
  • 1 vegetable stock cube
  • 1 tbsp (c.10g) of sun-dried tomato paste
  • 10g of pine nuts
  • 1 tsp of chilli flakes
  • 25g of Italian hard cheese (finely grated)
  • A large handful (c. 10g) of parsley (finely chopped)
  • A handful (c. 20g) of watercress (break apart the stems by hand)
  • Juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • 50g of spinach (roughly chopped)
  • 1 knob (c.6g) of butter
  • A drizzle or two of olive oils
  • Salt and pepper to taste


Directions

  1. Toast the pine nuts in a wide-based lidded frying pan over a low heat for a few minutes until fragrant and set aside
  2. Boil the kettle and in the same pan, increase to a medium heat and melt together the butter with a drizzle of olive oil the add the garlic, red onion, chilli flakes and salt and pepper to taste – allow to sauté for a couple of minutes until fragrant
  3. Add the tomato paste and cook in the oils for a couple of minutes before adding the tomatoes and courgette and sautéing for a 5 minutes until softened
  4. Prepare the vegetable stock cube in 350ml of boiling water
  5. Add half of the stock to the pan, cover and bring to a medium-high temperature – allow to cook for 5-10 minutes before reducing to a medium heat, adding the rest of the stock and cooking for a further 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally
  6. Add the spinach and parsley, cover and allow to steam for a couple of minutes before reducing the temperature to low and adding the lemon juice and most of the cheese (hold some back for topping)
  7. Serve topped with the toasted pine nuts, reserved cheese, watercress and an optional extra drizzle of olive oil

Let me know if you try this quick and easy orzo recipe!

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