I was looking for an easy pasta dish on foodnetwork.com, and found this from Giada. (I don't have a picture, but there is one on the recipe site. Mine came out looking just like that.) It is quick enough to put together that I tried it tonight after I got home from work. Easy and tasty!
Here are my notes:
- If you use the whole box of orzo, it makes about six dinner-size servings or an endless number of side dish size servings. Cutting it in half seems like it would be a good option if you don't want a ton of leftovers. If you make the whole recipe, this would be perfect for a pot luck or a big family gathering.
- When using the whole box of pasta, the secret is to boil it in your big soup pot, and then pour the pasta back into that pot after you've drained off the water. Then, add the rest of the ingredients to the big pot, rather than trying to fit everything in your saute pan.
- I used two huge cloves of garlic because one is just never enough, and that was a good call.
- This is a simple recipe with very few ingredients. That means the ingredients you use either make or break the dish. Splurge on a block of real Parmesan from Italy (not the kind that comes already shredded or grated in a plastic tub).
- I think this was from Giada's "cooking with kids" series, so it's very light on spices. I added more salt and black pepper than was called for, and would consider adding a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes next time. Don't season it too much before you add the cheese though - Parmesan is very salty.
- To make this a meal, I added some cubed deli chicken breast that I had left over. Another good option would be little salad shrimp.