Mediterranean Orzo

Mediterranean Orzo

With Artichokes, Olives, Capers & Pine Nuts

Serves 8

With every mouthful of this Mediterranean concoction, your tastebuds will be tickled with a thousand aromas! Pleasing to the eye, as well as the tongue, this recipe is very easy to prepare and keeps well in the fridge or freezer, for warming at another time. Using good quality organic ingredients is key.

Orzo is a type of short cut pasta, shaped as a large grain of rice. It has been used in Greek, Italian, Spanish, Israeli, Turkish, and Arabic cuisines for centuries. If you can’t get hold of it, any short cut pasta will work well.

Ingredients

500g orzo pasta, preferably wholemeal

1 leek, finely chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 tsp vegetable stock powder

1 tsp salt + 1 tsp for the boiling water

1 tbsp dried oregano

3 large tomatoes, finely chopped

3 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp ketchup

1 tin or jar of artichoke hearts, drained & finely chopped

1 heaped tbsp capers

20 pitted black Kalamata olives

15 pitted green olives, stuffed with red pepper

A whole bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh spearmint or mint

- To Serve -

2 tbsp roasted pine nuts

2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

Salt & pepper to taste

Method

First, chop and prepare all the ingredients, as shown in the picture. This makes cooking easier and so much more pleasurable.

Rinse the orzo under plenty of fresh cold water, to remove most of the starch and prevent it from becoming too sticky. Bring a medium pan of water to a boil. Add 1 tsp of salt and the orzo and stir well. Make sure the water covers the orzo completely. Let it boil for about 12-13 minutes (or according to package instructions), stirring frequently to keep it from sticking.

Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables. Heat up a little water over low to medium heat in a large, deep pan. Add the onion, the leek, the oregano and the stock powder, cover and sauté for 5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and continue to cook for a couple of minutes.

Add the chopped tomatoes, the tomato paste, the ketchup and a tsp of salt and keep simmering gently, while you stir.

Add the artichokes, the capers, the black and the green olives, the parsley and the mint. Stir gently with the lid on. The steam will release all the flavours. Simmer covered as such, for 10 minutes, then turn off the heat and let it rest.

In a dry small frying pan, add the pine nuts and roast them over medium to high heat for a few minutes, watching them closely and shaking them every so often, until they begin to turn golden and release their fragrant oils. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Once the orzo is ready, drain it and gently mix it into the vegetables, using a large spoon and soft strokes.

Serve the orzo in a nice serving bowl or platter, or individual plates and top with the pine nuts and some extra fresh, finely chopped parsley.

Enjoy!