Do you know that orzo is not rice, but a type of pasta shaped like bigger and plump rice grains? As much as I love risotto, but the skills and price involved have swapped me from cooking orzo instead of risotto.
I know I know you can't really compare these two just because they share similar appearance, but it is actually what's happening in my kitchen. So this time I'm making a pesto-themed orzo meal, supposedly the flavors and seasonings both work with risotto too. But like what's being said, let's stick with orzo this time.
Pesto orzo with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes -
Ingredients (about 5 to 6 portions)?
- 500 grams orzo
- 375 grams chicken (I used chicken tenders)
- 1 bundle/about 250 grams spinach
- 3/4 cup peas
- 135 grams pesto sauce
- 2 garlic cloves
- 5 cups vegetable stock
- 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Some salt
- Some black pepper
- 1 teaspoon mixed dried Italian herbs
- Some sun-dried tomatoes and oil
How?
Cut the chicken to medium bite size pieces. Destem and section the spinach to shorter length. Peek and chop the garlic cloves.
Drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan, I used a Dutch oven. Switch to medium heat and add in chopped garlic. Sear till aromatic but not burnt.
Add in orzo and give it a quick mix, making sure every grain has been coated with the oil. Add 1 teaspoon of mixed dried Italian herbs. Continue to stir and cook for 10 seconds.
Pour in 5 cups of vegetable stock. Cook the orzo till half way done, about 6 minutes.
Add in chicken and mix a little, cook for couple more minutes. Add in spinach and peas, mix and cook for about a minute. Spoon in the pesto sauce. Mix and cook till orzo reaches desired texture.
Taste and adjust with salt if needed. I added 1/2 teaspoon of salt here. However, the amount of salt used depends, especially we might be using different vegetable stock and pesto sauce here.
Once all checked, plate and dot the orzo with some sun-dried tomatoes. Perhaps drizzle some of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes for a gentle flavor boost. Crack some black pepper on top then ready to go.
You don't have to use such big pieces of sun-dried tomatoes like I did here. Use smaller ones or give the sun-dried tomatoes a few chops all work great.
Other orzo recipes: