I’m always looking for new ideas and ingredients to cook with and I recently purchased orzo after I had a yummy dish at McCormick & Schmick’s that spurred my culinary imagination. This dish I created on a whim, so please use as much or as little of each ingredient as you like. I’m used to cooking for 2, so if you want more, please double the recipe and I absolutely won’t be offended. To make the orzo I used:
-1/2 cup whole wheat orzo
-1 qt water
Basically you will follow the package directions and boil the water and add the orzo and cook for 8-10 minutes. Then drain it and set aside.
For the rest of the dish I used:
-olive oil (about 1-2 tbsp to coat the pan)
-1 green bell pepper chopped
-1/2 red onion chopped
-2 cloves minced garlic
-1-2 tbsp red wine vinegar (depending on how vinegary you like it feel free to add more or less)
-1 cup raw shrimp (peeled and deveined)
-2 tbsp chopped black olives
-1/2 cup chopped tomato
-1 handful of chopped fresh parsley
-juice of one lemon
-salt & pepper to taste
Use a skillet that is coated in olive oil over medium high heat to saute the bell pepper, onion, and garlic.
Lightly season with salt and pepper. Cook about 3-4 minutes then add the red wine vinegar. Constantly stir all ingredients together using a spatula and cook for about 2 more minutes. Add the shrimp and cook for another 2 minutes and then add the olives. Cook until the shrimp is cooked through and then remove from heat. Stir in the orzo, tomato, parsley, and lemon juice and top it off with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
