Can you believe it? I have an ACTUAL meal to share with you. Not a snack, not granola, but a real live dinner MEAL!
After watching my daughter eat one too many bowls of mac and cheese (and it wasn’t the homemade kind), I finally got the kick in the butt I needed to get back on the meal planning track. And what did I make? Well, I guess this is kind of an upscale version of mac and cheese – but instead of mac we have orzo, and instead of plain old cheese sauce, we have lots of delicious vegetables, chunks of mozzarella, and lemon zest and oregano.
This recipe makes a double batch – perfect to eat one now and freeze one for later. If you don’t want such a big serving (then I think you are crazy because this is delicious) but feel free to half the recipe and make just one pan. Big batch meals are perfect for me as you all well know summer is not my prime cooking time – who else can second that?
One of the great things about this baked orzo casserole is that there is no need to pre cook the orzo. Everything gets cooked together in the same pan – a one pot meal means less clean up. Something I also would rather not do in the summer, or anytime for that matter.
While I hope my cooking mojo is here to stay, at least if it’s not I have a dinner waiting in my freezer. No boring old mac and cheese tonight kids!
Dara
Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Baked Orzo
Serves | 8 |
Dietary | Vegetarian |
Meal type | Main Dish |
Misc | Freezable, Pre-preparable |
Website | Adapted from Smitten Kitchen |
Ingredients
- 2 large eggplant
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 carrot (diced)
- 2 celery stalk (diced)
- 1 onion (diced)
- 4 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 450 gram box orzo
- 2 Tsp tomato paste
- 3 Cups water
- 2 Tsp dried oregano
- zest from 1 lemon
- 1 Ball mozzarella (diced)
- 1 cup parmesan (grated)
- 5 tomatoes (sliced)
- salt and pepper
Note
If you didn't want to bake a big batch, you could easily half this recipe to serve 4. You can roast the eggplant ahead of time and store in the fridge until you are ready to make the orzo.
Directions
1. | Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread eggplant cubes evenly over sheets and drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil. Roast in the oven until tender, about 20 minutes. Set aside. |
2. | Heat remaining 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Stir in the orzo, tomato paste, and roasted eggplant and cook for another two minutes. |
3. | Remove pan from heat and add half of the oregano, mozzarella, parmesan, lemon zest, water, and salt and pepper. Mix until combined. |
4. | Spray 2 8 x 8 baking dishes with cooking spray and divide orzo mixture evenly among them. Lay sliced tomatoes out evenly along the top and sprinkle with remaining oregano, and salt and pepper. |
5. | Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and cover baking dishes with foil. Bake for 20 minutes with foil on and then another 25 minutes with foil off. Let sit for about 5-10 minutes before serving so orzo can firm up. |
6. | Once cooled, you can cover tightly and freeze as is, or separate into individual servings and freeze. |
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