One Pot Tomato, Chickpea & Orzo
Easy to make meals all in one pot, it is like a risotto but with pasta instead of rice making it quicker to cook. A tasty vegetarian dish easily adapted with the addition of some meat (chicken or chorizo) for meat lovers!!
Prep time: 10 minutes / Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4.
INGREDIENTS:
3 tbsps. oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 – 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
300g orzo
1tsp paprika
400g chopped tomatoes
400g tinned chickpeas
950ml vegetable stock
50 – 100g grated hard cheese, depending how cheesy you like it
2 tbsps. fresh herbs like parsley or chives, finely chopped
Salt & pepper to taste
METHOD:
1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Over medium heat add the finely chopped onions, and cook stirring often until they start to get a bit of colour. Add the crushed garlic and cook for a further minute.
2. Add the paprika & orzo and give it a good stir until the orzo is well coated in the oil & paprika.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes, drained chickpeas, vegetable stock & seasoning. Bring it to a gentle simmer and continue cooking until the orzo is al dente (around 15-20 minutes, depending on size), stirring often to prevent it from sticking. Note: it is best not to add all the stock at once, add ¾ of it and keep adding it as required, some pasta will absorb more liquid than others.
4. Remove from the heat, add the grated cheese & chopped herbs, mix well & serve.
TIPS:
✔ Use cannellini or butter beans instead of chickpeas.
✔ Add some chopped chorizo or bacon for extra yummy flavour at step 1 when you add the garlic.
✔ Alternatively, you can also add some chopped sausages or diced chicken in step 1. Make sure they are nicely browned all over before going to step 2.
✔ This recipe reheats well, perfect for batch cooking.
✔ Feel free to add some other vegetables, diced peppers would be lovely, cooked with the onions, alternatively, you could add some chopped spinach towards the end of cooking.
✔ You could use risotto/paella style rice instead of the orzo pasta, be aware that it will require longer cooking and more stock than stated on the recipe.
✔ Cooking something al dente is an Italian term that refers to food, usually pasta, cooked so as to still be firm when bitten. It literally means to the tooth, pasta that is perfectly al dente will still be quite firm to bite.
