Greek Orzo and Broccoli

Submitted by breezermom

"The warm side dish delivers strong feta and olive flavors while red pepper flakes add a little spice. Sometimes I add some diced red bell pepper to add color, but I really prefer it without the red bell pepper. The original idea for this recipe came from a recipe on AllRecipes, but I've added some things and made others optional."

 

• Ready In: 45mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 3⁄4 cup orzo pasta
• 2 cups fresh broccoli florets
• 1⁄3 cup Greek olive, pitted
• 1⁄4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 1⁄4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced
• 4 1⁄2 teaspoons slivered almonds or 4 1/2 teaspoons pine nuts, toasted
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1⁄4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper

directions

1. In a large saucepan, cook pasta in boiling water for 7 minutes. Add broccoli and cook 2-3 minutes longer or until pasta is tender; drain.
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the olives, feta cheese, Parmesan cheese and basil.
3. In a small nonstick skillet, saute almonds and minced garlic in oil for about 1 minute. Stir in red pepper flakes and pepper; cook and stir 1 minute longer. Pour over pasta mixture; toss to coat.
4. Stir in olive mixture; toss to coat.
5. Enjoy!

Reviews

[IngridH]

We really enjoyed this! Easy to make, wonderful flavor, what else can you ask for? I made exactly as written, except that I increased the garlic, as I LOVE garlic. A wonderful dish, and I love that it has both the vegetable and the starch in one dish. I'll definitely be making this again! Thanks for posting.

 

[SugarHATER]

Another HEALTHY recipe! The only swap I did, was replace the pasta with Quinoa because it's higher in protein and healthier than poisonous pasta. I love that there was broccoli in this. I used a vegan parmesan. Excellent. Will make this again!

 

[Dienia B.]

this was really nice as a side dish , i love basil and it worked wirh the feta nothing was overpowered here made for my team mate on the unrulies zaar tour 6

 

[cookiedog]

This made a wonderful dinner and it was very easy to put together after a busy day. I really loved the basil in this and I was a little heavy handed on the red pepper which gave it a some heat. It had plenty of flavor without needing a heavy dressing and I could see myself eating this one all summer long! Thank you Breezermom for this little trip to Greece!

 

[loof751]

Just delicious! I used pine nuts and they were perfect in this. I'm not a big fan of olives so I just sprinkled a few on top instead of mixing with the cheeses. Such a simple dish to make but so full of flavor. Served this as a meatless main dish and really enjoyed - thanks for sharing the recipe!