One of the most neglected of Italy's pastas is the rice-shaped little pasta chunk called orzo. Orzo is Italian for "barley." The name presumably comes from the pasta's appearance, but orzo is made from wheat semolina.
Orzo is most often used in soups. But it makes a good pasta dish in its own right. Part of its appeal is ease of handling. Orzo is harder to overcook than most other pastas. Unlike manicotti or stuffed shells, you don't have to worry about tearing it up in some way. You don't have to layer it, like lasagna. Orzo is easy to work with.
Cooking the Orzo
Cook your orzo in three or four quarts of boiling water for 5 to 7 minutes, until is is tender but firm. You will want to salt the water it lightly and add to add a teaspoon of cooking oil to the water.
When the orzo is done, drain it in a strainer or sieve and set it aside.
Picking Your Vegetables
A mix of vegetable can be used with this dish. Exactly which ones you choose to include will depend on what's in season and on your own personal preferences. Some suggestions include:
- A Variety of Bell Peppers - red, green, yellow, or orange. Peppers are healthy and tasty. they're a marvelous way to add color to a dish like this.
- Mushrooms - sliced or whole, depending on the size.
- Zucchini - quartered lengthwise and then cut into one inch strips.
- Eggplant - cut into one inch cubes.
- Tomatoes - diced.
- Baby Spinach - whole leaf.
- Onion - diced.
Vegetables should be picked for color, texture, and nutritional value. But mostly they should be picked to please you. You may want to limit the dish to two or three vegetables, or you may want to include smaller portions of all these vegetables.
Cooking the Vegetables
In a large non-stick skillet, you should sauté your vegetables in your favorite margarine or butter. Since both the butter and the vegetables will go into the pasta, you needn't worry about using too much.
Sauté the vegetables on low heat for 15 or 20 minutes.
Flavoring the Dish
This is an excellent dish to use pesto with. Once the vegetables are tender, mix a liberal amount of pesto into them. If you prefer leaving the pesto out, consider including minced garlic. Add a selection of Italian herbs to the vegetables. Use basil, oregano, rosemary, or perhaps marjoram in a combination to suit your own tastes. A quarter cup of red wine, burgundy or merlot, can add a nice flavor to the dish.
Mixing the Ingredients
Once the vegetables have been sautéed and your choice of herbs added to the skillet, add the orzo and mix the ingredients together. Add butter (or margarine) and continue stirring the mixture over low heat until the butter is fully melted.
As a final touch, consider adding a teaspoon of turmeric. The turmeric will give the dish a nice yellow to orange color that makes it a very appealing and decorative side dish for any main course (though it also works as a stand alone pasta meal).
Want to add some meat? Sautéed chicken or almost any seafood makes a great addition to this dish...
