Orzo Stuffed Peppers

Let's face it. I am addicted to the food network channel. Not the late night shows, but the shows that come on when I'm at work. You can sit there and watch exactly what they make, and how they make it. IT'S AWESOME. So, with that said, while watching Everyday Italian, Giada made Orzo Stuffed Peppers. I had heard of Orzo before, but never went out and looked for it at the grocery store. Turns out its a type of pasta (score points for this pasta lover!) that looks like rice. Sneaky trick there! While I'll put the recipe that she used, I didn't exactly follow it. I used what I had on hand. Turns out I'm a little more picky than my boyfriend is foodwise. This dish had a lot of flavor to it (though in my pasta mind, it could've used more sauce) and made enough for us both to take to lunch the next day. Thanks to Emily and me, our coworkers are looking forward to lunchtime now.

You'll Need:

1 (28-ounce) can Italian tomatoes

2 Zucchini, grated

1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves (I used cilantro, completely different taste, but all I had)

1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for sprinkling (I used Mozzarella, heh)

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp salt (I think it could've used more, but I guess I like more salty food)

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper (again I used more)

4 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cups orzo (rice shaped pasta)

6 sweet bell peppers (red and yellow) (I only had 3..)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 Degrees F.

Pour the tomatoes into a large bowl and mash with hands. Add the zucchini, mint, cheese, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.

Meanwhile, bring the chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the orzo and cook for 4 minutes. The orzo should be only partially cooked. Use a fine mesh sieve to transfer the orzo to the large bowl with the other vegetables. Stir the orzo into the vegetable mix to combine. Transfer the warm chicken broth to a 3-quart baking dish.

Slice the tops off the peppers and remove all ribs and seeds. Cut a very thin slice from the base to help the peppers stand up.

Place the peppers in the baking dish with the warm chicken broth. Spoon the orzo mixture into the peppers. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle the top of each pepper with cheese and continue baking until cheese is golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully transfer the orzo stuffed pepper to a serving plate.

Now you might be asking what I did since I only had 3 peppers. I simply put the remaining pasta mixture into a glass baking dish and baked alongside the peppers. We had a side of pasta, along with our stuffed peppers. I also served this with a side salad (not pictured), and a slice of texas toast. DE-LISH! The peppers came out great, you could cut smoothly with the fork, and the pasta inside the peppers had the flavor baked in it. It was more juicy than the pasta by itself, which when I make next time I'll use more juice and more tomatoes to give it that pasta-ey flavour.

TF