[Recipe] Orzo and Olive Bake

[Guest guest]

This was good - tonights dinner, served with steamed broccoli and

garlic bread. Very " greek " tasting, If you like olives and oregano,

you'll probably like it. Recipe is here as it appeared, my notes are

below. From Southern Living's All-time Favorite Pasta Recipes.

Oh, and my 6-yr old ate it, and liked it.

 

Orzo and Olive Bake

 

1/2 of a 16 oz. box of orzo, or other small pasta such as stars,

ditalini, shells

1 large onion, chopped

1 cup chopped celery

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp flour

1 16 oz can Italian style diced tomatoes, drained

1/2 cup un-chicken broth

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 4-oz can sliced black olives

2 cups (8 oz) shredded Mozarella, divided

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

 

Cook pasta according to pkg directions, drain and set aside.

 

Cook onion and celery in olive oil over medium heat until tender.

Stir in flour until blended.

 

Add tomatoes, broth, and oregano, red pepper, salt, and simmer 5

minutes. Stir in pasta, olives, and 1 cup cheese.

 

Pur into greased 1 1/2 quart casserole. Top with remaining cheese.

Bake, uncovered 20-30 minutes. 6 servings as a side-dish, 2-3 as a

main meal.

 

My notes:

I used soy mozarella, worked fine. I also added some sliced fresh

mushrooms, and used a mixture of different olives I had, not just

black. I omitted the salt as olives are quite salty enough.

Ideas for possible future additions: grilled chopped eggplant?

Chickpeas?