Orzo with Sausage, Peppers and Tomatoes

Third day in a row! What do you think about that? Today, I am cooking up a yummy Orzo dish for you to enjoy. This meal is fantastic! So filling and tons of left overs. Let's see what you need!!!

Ingredients:

• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 orange bell pepper
• 1 pound orzo pasta
  
• 1.5 cups chicken stock
• 1.5 cups water
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 7 ounces Italian Sausage (you can use turkey sausage if you so choose)
  
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 plum tomatoes, hopped
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup ricotta salata cheese, crumbled (or goat cheese)

Let's get cooking! First off, I used two green peppers over the red and orange. Call me cheap, but peppers other than the green colored ones are so expensive! To start off this recipe, you need to get a nice char on the peppers. Place them on a baking sheet, turn the oven on to broil, and place the peppers in under the broiler for about 8 minutes (2 minutes per side). Then place the charred peppers in a medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 20 minutes. What will happen is they will steam up and get all nice and soft! Under running water, peel away the charred skin from the peppers and pat dry. Remove the stem and seeds from the peppers and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices.

Moving along... in a saucepan (medium) over high heat, bring the chicken stock, water, and kosher salt to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until tender, but firm to the bite (about 8-10 minutes).

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the sausage and saute until cooked through. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 more minutes. Add the peppers, tomatoes, and red pepper flakes and cook for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water and drain the rest off of the orzo. Transfer to a large serving bowl. To the pasta, add the sausage mixture and 1 tablespoon of parsley. Toss well to combine all ingredients. If needed, add some of the reserved pasta water.

Plate up a nice bowl for yourself and top with the ricotta salata (or goat cheese) and sprinkle with some parsley. Enjoy!!

We really really really enjoyed this meal! We probably had 3-4 servings left over. Additionally, we did not add all of the orzo into the sausage mixture. We felt the recipe called for too much. So, I just added some tomatoes we had in the fridge to the left over orzo and had a cold pasta for lunch the next day. Remember, cooking is never perfect! Sometimes you just have to be creative and think on your toes!

Let's check this dish out!

Yumm! The cheese melted and added a nice creamy texture! What are you waiting for? You know you want to try this. Get into your kitchen and try something new.