This recipe is sponsored by DeLallo

Lightly tomato-sauced up orzo baked in a skillet with red peppers, kale, chicken – or chickpeas – and a topping of feta, lemon juice, and fresh dill is something that I am never disappointed to eat on a chilly weeknight in November.

In fact, it is kind of the perfect thing for that still-needs-something-cozy-but-already-overdid-it-on-the-old-favorites time of year, which seems to be about now. The soups have been made, the curries have been devoured, the tacos have been on repeat, and now it’s just a good time to introduce something fresh, zippy, and different.

Honorable mention to the health factor here, because this recipe is full of kale, red peppers, tomatoes, and chickpeas if you wish. All these flavor-rich, cozy veggies provide a good contrast to some of the more, what’s a good word here, comforting? heavy? buttery? recipes that seem to get put on repeat every weekend.

Healthy? Cozy? This one can check both boxes for us.

The thing about orzo is that it’s one of those types of pasta that can kind of get lost in obscurity, but whenever I make it I find myself thinking: I NEED TO MAKE THAT MORE.

I use (and have used, for a long time!) DeLallo pastas, and orzo is no exception. DeLallo also makes tomato paste, fire-roasted tomatoes, and canned chickpeas, all of which were put to use for this Greek Baked Orzo masterpiece.

The whole process of making this recipe is so simple and the flavor… the flavor! It honestly had me snacking on the last orzo bits straight out of the pan. Like, the little semi-browned bits that were stuck to the edges after baking? I know you know what I’m talking about.

This recipe practically requires that you make it your own – add some chicken meatballs, rotisserie chicken, chickpeas, more vegetables, kalamata olives. You are ready to take this and run.

Also: having a strange craving for no-knead bread with this, which doesn’t exactly make sense but also with olive oil for dipping and some extra orzo for scooping… definitely does make sense.

Greek Baked Orzo

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• Author: Lindsay
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 4-6

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Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• half of an onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 cups kale, chopped
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• a tiny pinch of red pepper flakes 
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup uncooked orzo
• 1 14-ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes
• 1–2 cups cooked chicken or chickpeas
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 1–2 tablespoons butter (optional)
• feta and dill for topping (optional)
• lemon squeezies for serving (optional)

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large oven-safe skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion. Saute for 5 minutes or until soft.
3. Add the garlic, red pepper, kale, oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt. Saute for 5 minutes or until the kale is wilted.
4. Add the tomato paste. Saute for 1-2 minutes. 
5. Add the orzo, canned tomatoes, chicken or chickpeas, and broth. Bring to a simmer. 
6. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the orzo is soft.
7. Finish by stirring in butter, crumbling feta over the top, and dusting with some fresh dill, lemon juice, and freshly ground black pepper. YEAH BABY.

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Notes

If you want the feta to get soft, just crumble and then put it back in the oven for 5 minutes or so before serving.

I normally use an enameled cast iron pan for this, and I find that the orzo likes to stick to the bottom of the pan. But it should release fine with some gentle pressure from a spatula or wooden spoon and then you’ll be good to go!

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Thank you to DeLallo for sponsoring this recipe!

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