Sun-Dried Tomato and Herbed/Cheesed Baked Orzo

"This is a wonderful infusion of sweet sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, shallots and fresh herbs and cheese with wonderful orzo, baked to perfection with a simple parmesan/bread crumb topping. I saw a version of this on The Food Netwook, and adapted it to suit what I had in my pantry and it turned out very flavorful."
 
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photo by LilPinkieJ photo by LilPinkieJ
photo by LilPinkieJ
photo by LilPinkieJ photo by LilPinkieJ
Ready In:
35mins
Ingredients:
15
Serves:
4
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ingredients

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directions

  • Heat olive oil and butter over medium/high heat in saucepan til hot. Add shallots and cook til translucent, but not brown. Add chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Cook 1 minute more, stirring and moving mixture around constantly. Add garlic, cooking one minute more. Be careful at this point not to burn garlic or all will be ruined.
  • Add 1 cup orzo to saucepan, constantly stirring and toasting the pasta for 1 to 2 minutes. Add chicken broth, and crank heat up to high to bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper for seasoning, being careful not to over-salt, as parmesano reggiano has a high salt content. When boil is reached, cover and reduce to simmer and cover til most of liquid is absorbed. You want SOME liquid to remain.
  • Transfer to a bowl. Add fontina cheese and 1/4 cup parmesan, basil and parsley. Add cream. Stir well. Transfer to 2-quart buttered/greased ramekin or equivalent and cover the top with the mixture of Italian seasoned bread crumbs and remaining 1/4 cup reggiano cheese.
  • Dot top with bits of butter and bake in 375 oven for approximately 30 minutes.
  • Serve immediately, grating more reggiano over dish if desired.

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Reviews

  1. This is a nice dish with great flavors, despite my best attempts to screw it up. I couldn't find sun-dried tomatoes, so I bought some fire roasted tomatoes. I squeezed them out before I chopped them up. I spilled a little too much olive oil into the pan. Then, I forgot to add the cream to the mixture. I still don't know why they keep letting me into the kitchen. All in all, it didn't turn out as creamy as it could have been. Yet, it was still quite delicious. The recipe is a bit labor intensive, but if I do it right next time, it's quite worth it. Made and reviewed for PAC Fall 2008. Thanks. :)
     
  2. This recipe came together really nicely, and I loved the cheese with the orzo. I sauteed my shallots, slicing them in half lengthwise, then slicing the shallot to make thin moon shaped slices, and slowly sauteed them until they where caramelized, then added the chopped sundried tomatoes etc. The flavor really came out and boosted the taste of the dish. Make sure you really watch your garlic, so it doesn't burn. I turned the heat down to med. before adding them in so they wouldn't cook too fast and burn. I will make this again for sure. Loved it! Made for PAC Spring 2008
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I am studying as a chef, but have been a baker for years and years. Cakes, cookies, wedding cakes (baking and decorating), pastries, candies, chocolates...you name it...I've probably made it. I planted an herb garden 2 seasons ago and really enjoyed it and having been doing so ever since. I had fresh herbs all summer long and an abundance to dry and "put up" for the winter. Nothing beats your own fresh rosemary, basil, thyme and savory, sage, mint, oregano. I have five huge rosemary bushes that are thriving outside, despite frigid weather (it's quite hardy!). Rosemary is probably my favorite herb. I love to infuse oils...the safe way. I infuse them right before I cook with them, either with garlic or herbs or both. I love making simple syrups (I always use the 2 to 1 ratio: 2 cups of sugar to 1 cup of water...it IS a syrup). I love it in hot tea and in a variety of drinks...even homemade ice creams. I've infused simple syrups with rosemary, lemon, apple mint, lime and lavender. All were fantastic with a cup of, for instance, blood orange/pomegranate green tea, or even basic teas or plain green teas. They do wonders for iced teas also. Try sweetening your lemonade with a basil simple syrup, it's great! I always have them on hand. They take up a huge amount of refrigerator space, but I cannot do without them. I am an amateur photographer and just got my new Canon XSi 450D Rebel and am having such a great time with it. I'm currently experimenting with macro photography with some great lens diopters. So when I make a recipe and it comes out looking nice, I'll have a really detailed picture of it, lol. More as time goes by. This was a quick jot. I Was Adopted banner: <img src="http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j166/ZaarNicksMom/PACsticker-Adopted.jpg">
 
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