I know ... that's a little weird for this blog. BUT, we had a meeting of the Vermont Gang; the group that are going on a yarn crawl to Vermont on Sunday. And they liked my Orzo. And thought you all might like it too. Sooooo, here's the recipe.
Now first of all, Orzo, which is pasta shaped like rice, cooks like Risotto. You need lots of fluid and you need to keep stirring. Also, the pasta takes on the flavour of what you cook it with, otherwise, it's kind 'flat', so you need chicken stock or wine.
Okay, here goes:
500g of Orzo
2.5 cups chicken stock
1 cup white wine
1/2 cup melted butter
5 minced garlic cloves
2 cups parmasean cheese grated
10 or 15 torn Fresh Basil leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
6 tomatoes, diced.
First:
Bring liquid to a boil; add the Orzo. Start stirring.
When it's done, about 12 minutes (taste for al dente) you probably won't have any liquid left, just very creamy Orzo. (if you see the Orzo running dry, throw in some more white wine.)
Next:
Melt 1/2 cup butter in a large sauce pan, add and brown gently 5 minced garlic cloves (or more if you like)
Now:
Add Orzo to the sauce pan and stir to cover with butter and garlic.
Add 2 cups Parmasean Cheese (grated)
Add 6 tomatoes, diced.
Tear 10 or 15 Basil leaves and add.
Grind black ground pepper over top.
Give it a good stir. Flip out into a bowl. Decorate with some fresh basil.
Let me know what you think. We all really liked it. Mom thought that if you tossed in some cooked shrimp, you would have a meal in a bowl. Or even cooked chicken!
People were dying to know what we were doing! We died laughing! Live free or die! (that one's for you Lynne!)
