Sunday, August 22, 2010

Mosaic Monday: Tomato Sauce and Orzo

Ever since I saw the Orzo Milanese at Katerina's blog, Culinary Flavor's, I have craved a bowl of orzo. Her way is definitely much easier than standing over a pot and stirring. And stirring. And stirring. And if you know me by now, you know that it just aint happening. I rarely stand in one place, especially in front of the stove, for that long. Isn't that why smoke alarms and kitchen timers were invented?

And I still had that fresh tomato sauce from the other day. This would be a perfect way to use it. Had to adapt Katerina's recipe a bit because Miss Picky and the Big Kid would never go for cinnamon or nutmeg in their tomato sauce. So I looked around to see what would do. Epicurious had a nice one, too, so I combined the two recipes. Omitted the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, and added Parmesan and a little chicken stock, a little olive oil and a dab of butter! Miss Picky didn't even complain about the Parmesan. At least not after her second helping. Thanks, Katerina, for the inspiration! We really enjoyed the orzo! I hope next time to try it with the cinnamon and nutmeg, instead of the Parm!


The Roasted Tomato Sauce recipe can be found here.




Orzo and Tomato "Risotto" Milanese
Source: Culinary Flavors and Epicurious
adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

1 (1-lb) box orzo
1 cup tomato sauce or juice
1 cup chicken stock (more if needed)
1/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
1-2 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil
salt and black pepper, to taste

Cook orzo in a large pot of boiling salted water until barely al dente, about five minutes. Drain in a colander.

Pour orzo into a heavy saucepan and add stock, tomato juice or sauce, and the bay leaf. Simmer over moderate heat, stirring, until stock is almost absorbed.  Remove the bay leaf and stir in cheese, thyme, butter or oil, salt, and pepper and serve immediately.


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Joining Mary's Mosaic Monday. For more mosaic's stop by the Little Red House!

43 comments:

  1. I am with them. I do not like nutmeg in Italian food. Good in cookies though!
    Great mosaic. That's fancy mill thing you have to make sauce. Mike has made sauce for 40 yrs. Don't tell him he needs one of those things, LOL!
    No room for that here!

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  2. Hmmmm, food mosaics are among my very favorites!

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  3. WEll I think I need a little snack after looking at your mosaic!!

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  4. I love orzo and I love tomatoes so that would be delicious.

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  5. Ooooo yum!!! That looks so delicious!

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  6. My mouth is watering! Looks delicious!

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  7. That looks really good, I love orzo - worth trying while there's still fresh tomatoes.
    Kathy

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  8. Wonderful mosaic of lovely preprations.

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  9. Hi, great photos and mosaic. Everything looks greatttt! Have a wonderful new week!
    Hugs...
    Bobbi

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  10. That sounds great Carol. I've had orzo but never made it. And um..the recipe DOES say to stir constantly. So are you saying that's not necessary? :-)

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  11. Oh, my goodness...that recipe looks absolutely delis...I'd like to join you for dinner!

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  12. We'll put our mosaics together and have a spectacular meal! I'm going to save this recipe, thanks so much.

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  13. Thanks for the nice comments :)

    I didn't stir constantly, Suzy, but I did stir it.

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  14. This looks very good. Yum!...Christine

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  15. Yum! This looks so yummy.
    Thanks for your visit today.
    Have a great week.
    Karen
    Ladybug Creek

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  16. This looks so delicious! You are some fantastic cook! :)
    Thanks so much for popping in to see me.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia :)

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  17. Oh boy now you've gone and done it. I am now so hungry and going to head for the kitchen and try this recipe. Great mosaic

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  18. looks delicious, lovely photoes

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  19. Sounds delicious to me and easy too. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

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  20. What a lovely mosaic and it looks like yummy

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  21. Oh yum. What a great Mosaic and post. Thank you so much because I can actually make that today. I have all the ingredients! I was stumped for something new.

    Enjoy your day,
    Susan

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  22. I love to find a new recipe, and this one looks quite yummy!
    You made orzo look quite lovely!!

    M.E.

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  23. Sounds and looks good! I need a serving of that, along with a couple of the ribs from your previous post. :D
    have a great week.

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  24. What a great way to use that tomato sauce, Carol. Your orzo looks delicious! I think you did a beautiful adaptation of the two recipes.

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  25. Thanks for the shout out! I am honored you inspired by my recipe. You adaptation looks great. That is food blogging all about. Finding recipes and adapting them to our family tastes.

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  26. Hi! I am so happy to have found you via Cuisine Kathleen; I am slowly but surely finding other LI bloggers. Your blog is beautiful. I am not much of a cook, mind you, but I could be, I think. It is on my to do list and with all the great cooking & recipe blogs like yours how could I miss? Nice to "meet" you!
    Best,
    Colleen

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  27. Carol, we have a few things in common of what our family dislikes, one is the Cinnamon. I think this adds a little aroma.

    This food looks so yummy, and my mouth is drooling!

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  28. Delicious looking mosaic! My kids wouldn't eat tomatoes, but I like them..

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  29. That looks yummy! Orzo is relatively new to me, so I like to find a new way to serve it. We like cinammon and nutmeg, so I may try it both ways.

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  30. this really looks good - my romas are finally ripening so I look forward to trying this one.

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  31. Looks very yummy! I love it with tomato sauce.

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  32. That looks wonderful. I am starved. I need to stop blog hopping when I am hungry!!!!!!

    Carol

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  33. Way to go! This sounds great! Love the color and all that good cheese with it too!

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  34. See I got Colleen who is also a LI to come over and visit! Now can I be your nbf?

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  35. What a fantastic dish, the flavors are wonderful :) A lovely way to prepare orzo...

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  36. Yummy! I love orzo and this looks wonderful! I hope you are having a great week!...hugs...Debbie

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  37. Thank you for telling us about your variation on this recipe I made your Orzo recipe yesterday & blogged about it today, giving you full credit. It is wonderful & I only wish I had made the whole box!!

    Come see!!!

    href=http://rettspace.blogspot.com>/2010/08/sweet-revenge-foodie-friday-food-for.html

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  38. Oh poop...I have the toughest time getting those hot links to work!

    Trying again...

    /2010/08/sweet-revenge-foodie-friday-food-for.html

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Thank you for taking the time to comment. They are fun to read and very much appreciated! Sorry for comment moderation, the spam has been overwhelming lately.

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