Thursdays in the kitchen with Jo: a tasty side dish
25 February 2010
I really need a food stylist. It tastes better than it looks.
It’s still Thursday in Los Angeles, which means this is still Thursday in the kitchen with me. Let’s go ahead and talk about side dishes, shall we? Let’s say you’re cooking your best pork loin or a chicken saltimbocca. If you serve it with the perfect crusty bread, a garlicky Caesar salad and just the right wine, your friends will be so glad they said “yes” when you asked them for dinner. But it needs a starchy side to feel complete and you’re tired of rice and potatoes, yes? Let me remind you about orzo. It’s almost like serving a rice dish except it’s pasta. You can do just about anything you want with it, and I do. Here’s one of the first recipes I found and then played with to make it my own.
Orzo with almost everything (this recipe is good for 6 servings)
1 ½ cups uncooked orzo
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
¼ cup chopped Kalamata olives
¼ cup capers
1/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (preferably NOT in olive oil, just blanched)
1/3 cup chopped basil
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
1/3 cup shredded parmesan
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper to taste (you know I add more than I should)
Cook the orzo in heavily salted water. (I don’t have to tell you how to cook pasta, do I?) Drain. Let cool before mixing in the next nine ingredients. Add salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature.
That’s it. More prep than anything else. Great flavors all in one dish. Orzo is my friend.
Don’t miss tomorrow’s Friday Fodder.
I really need a food stylist. It tastes better than it looks.
It’s still Thursday in Los Angeles, which means this is still Thursday in the kitchen with me. Let’s go ahead and talk about side dishes, shall we? Let’s say you’re cooking your best pork loin or a chicken saltimbocca. If you serve it with the perfect crusty bread, a garlicky Caesar salad and just the right wine, your friends will be so glad they said “yes” when you asked them for dinner. But it needs a starchy side to feel complete and you’re tired of rice and potatoes, yes? Let me remind you about orzo. It’s almost like serving a rice dish except it’s pasta. You can do just about anything you want with it, and I do. Here’s one of the first recipes I found and then played with to make it my own.
Orzo with almost everything (this recipe is good for 6 servings)
1 ½ cups uncooked orzo
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
¼ cup chopped Kalamata olives
¼ cup capers
1/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (preferably NOT in olive oil, just blanched)
1/3 cup chopped basil
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
1/3 cup shredded parmesan
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper to taste (you know I add more than I should)
Cook the orzo in heavily salted water. (I don’t have to tell you how to cook pasta, do I?) Drain. Let cool before mixing in the next nine ingredients. Add salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature.
That’s it. More prep than anything else. Great flavors all in one dish. Orzo is my friend.
Don’t miss tomorrow’s Friday Fodder.
Having been lucky enough to dine often at Jo’s I can vouch for how good this orzo is…as is everything Marco and I have consumed (inhaled) at their abode!