Athenian Orzo

A great one-pot meal. Pair with a white Greek wine such as Moschofilero Boutari. The shrimp can be swapped out for chicken chunks as a nice alternate.

Yield:
Serves 6 persons or 4 teenagers.
Category:
Casseroles and One Pots
Cuisine:
Greek

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 red, yellow or sweet onion, chopped
  • 3 green onions, sliced
  • 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
  • 1 red bell pepper cut into 1/2 inch dice
  • 1 yellow, orange or green bell pepper cut into 1/2 inch dice
  • 1 28 ounce can tomatoes, or equivalent fresh tomatoes
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil, or mint
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon drained capers
  • zest and juice of one lemon - about 2 tablespoons
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1 cup orzo
  • 2/3 cup (200 g) cubed or crumbled feta cheese ( sheep and / or goat)
  • 1 pound medium shrimp (30-40 per pound), peeled and deveined

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Heat your oven to 450°F. Coat a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
  2. Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add onion, bell peppers and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add wine and cook for about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, green onion, lemon zest and juice, basil, capers, oregano, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper.
  3. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Then drop in the shrimp and cook, stirring, until just barely pink, about 1 1/ 2 minutes per side.
  4. Cook orzo in the boiling water until tender but still firm, 8 minutes. Drain and transfer to the prepared baking dish. Toss with the tomato-shrimp sauce. Sprinkle with feta, basil and the parsley. Bake, uncovered, until the feta is bubbly, about 10 minutes.

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