I guess we are not alone here – after a long day of working, nobody here wants to spend a long time in the kitchen for dinner. That’s why we love simple and quick recipes in the evening. Simple pasta dishes, like this One-Pot Orzo with Minced Meat, Zucchini & Bell Peppers are great for weeknight dinners. Loads of flavor, little effort and delicious! All we ever wanted! Nothing more, nothing less. ;P
Pasta is known to be comfort food. We’re not the biggest fans of (excessive amounts of) carbs late at night, but when they come as pasta in a bowl with a delicious sauce, even we can’t say no. As long as you don’t start cooking right before midnight, everything is fine. We all know… eating (too many carbs) after midnight turns us all into little gremlins! We’ve all seen the movies! ;P
Well, of course, everyone reacts differently to carbohydrates. People who have just finished exercising will probably be able to digest a few noodles more easily. We, on the contrary, only watch sports from the sofa, so loads of pasta can be tricky sometimes. Nobody wants to read that, but it is true (for some people like us). Sounds a lot like »pasta and carb bashing«, but that’s not how we want it to come across…
Anyway. Pasta is delicious, and this dish here is very easy to prepare. You fry some veggies and meat, season that well, then you add liquid and the short pasta… and a few minutes later you got a delicious meal ready! One-pot dishes are simply brilliant. Not only because everything is done very quickly, but also because you don’t have to clean as many pots and bowls, etc. We love that!
We used Kritharaki pasta here. The short pasta looks quite similar to rice and is also called Orzo or Risoni. The name changes depending on the area (country) where the pasta is used. Though it’s always the same pasta. ;P
If you don’t have Kritharaki at home, you can switch to other types of pasta here, of course. Small elbow macaroni, or other short pasta, can also be used here. If you add a different type of pasta to the pot, you may need to adjust the cooking time. But that’s not a problem. Go with the cooking time on the pasta package and check if the pasta is »al dente« at the end of the cooking time. If the pasta needs more liquid, simply add a little broth or water.
If you got Kritharaki (Orzo or Risoni) leftover after making this dish, you might want to check out these two recipes as well. Our Greek Baked Orzo with Feta Cheese is similar to this dish here – only baked instead of cooked. Never hurts to bake something in the oven with some cheese on top, right?!
Our Mediterranean Orzo Pasta Salad is a lighter dish and perhaps also a bit healthier. Veggies, beans, and pasta. Great combination! Maybe something to try instead of a good old potato salad. ;P
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(4-5 servings)
some oil for frying
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
14 oz. (400g) mixed minced meat (or coarse sausages)
2 bell peppers (yellow & red), chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
2 tbsp. tomato purée
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. paprika powder
1/4 cup (60ml) dry red wine (optional)
2 1/2 cups (600ml) veggie stock (plus some more, if necessary)
1 can (14 oz./400g) chunky tomatoes
salt, pepper
10.6 oz. (300g) Kritharaki pasta (Orzo)
feta or shepherd’s cheese to your liking
some spring onion, chopped
(4-5 Portionen)
etwas Öl zum Anbraten
1 mittelgroße Zwiebel, fein gehackt
2-3 Knoblauchzehen, fein gehackt
400g gemisches Hackfleisch (oder grobe Bratwürste)
2 Paprika (gelb & rot), in Stücken
1 mittelgroße Zucchini, in Stücken
2 EL Tomatenmark
1 TL Oregano
1 TL Paprikapulver
60ml trockener Rotwein (optional)
600ml Gemüsebrühe (ggf. etwas mehr)
1 Dose (400g) stückige Tomaten
300g Kritharaki Nudeln (Orzo)
Salz, Pfeffer
Feta oder Hirtenkäse nach Belieben
einige Frühlingszwiebelröllchen für die Dekoration
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Wash and dry the bell peppers and zucchini, then cut into bite-sized pieces. Prepare the rest of the ingredients and keep them ready. If you are using sausages instead of minced meat, remove the sausage meat from the casings and mash it a little.
2. Heat some oil in a Dutch oven* and sauté the onion and garlic briefly. As soon as the onions got some color, add the minced meat or sausage meat and cook for a few minutes. As soon as the meat is nicely browned, add the bell peppers and zucchini pieces and cook briefly with meat and onions. Next, add the tomato purée, dried oregano, and paprika powder. Mix everything well and sauté briefly. Deglaze with the red wine (optional), allow the wine to cook down almost completely, then add the veggie stock and the chunky tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, reduce the heat slightly and let everything about simmer for about 10 minutes.
3. Add the pasta and cook everything for about 6-8 minutes longer. The pasta should still have a bite. Keep stirring – the small noodles tend to stick to the bottom of the Dutch oven. If the pasta has absorbed a lot of liquid, you can add a little more veggie stock. Season with more salt and pepper, if necessary. Serve in bowls and garnish with feta or shepherd’s cheese and some chopped spring onion, if desired.
1. Die Zwiebel und den Knoblauch schälen und fein hacken. Die Paprika und Zucchini waschen, trocknen und in mundgerechte Stücke schneiden. Alle Zutaten zum Kochen bereitstellen – wer Bratwürste statt Hackfleisch verwendet, sollte das Brät aus den Därmen entfernen und ein wenig zerdrücken.
2. Etwas Öl in einem großen (gusseisernen) Topf* erhitzen und darin dann die Zwiebel und den Knoblauch kurz anschwitzen. Wenn die Zwiebeln etwas Farbe bekommen haben, das Hackfleisch bzw. Bratwurstbrät dazugeben und einige Minuten krümelig anbraten. Sobald das Fleisch schön gebräunt ist, die Paprika- und Zucchinistücke dazugeben und kurz mit anbraten. Tomatenmark, Oregano und Paprikapulver dazugeben, alles gut vermengen und kurz anschwitzen lassen. Mit dem Rotwein ablöschen (optional) und den Wein fast komplett einkochen lassen. Gemüsebrühe und stückige Tomaten dazugeben, mit Salz und Pfeffer würzen, dann etwa 10 Minuten bei leicht reduzierter Hitzezufuhr köcheln lassen.
3. Die Kritharaki Nudeln in den Topf dazugeben und für etwa 6-8 Minuten mit köcheln lassen – die Nudeln sollten noch Biss haben. Immer wieder umrühren, da die kleinen Nudeln gerne mal am Boden des Topfes hängen bleiben. Sollten die Nudeln sehr viel Flüssigkeit aufgenommen haben, kann man noch ein wenig Gemüsebrühe nachschütten. Vor dem Servieren noch einmal mit Salz und Pfeffer nachwürzen, falls notwendig. In Schüsseln füllen und nach Belieben mit Feta oder Hirtenkäse und einigen Frühlingszwiebelröllchen dekorieren.
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One-Pot Orzo with Minced Meat, Zucchini & Bell Peppers
- Prep Time: 00:10
- Cook Time: 00:25
- Total Time: 00:35
- Yield: 4
- Category: Pasta
- Cuisine: International
Description
If you like it less complicated, this delicious One-Pot Orzo with Minced Meat, Zucchini & Bell Peppers is going to be perfect for you!
Ingredients
some oil for frying
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
14 oz. (400g) mixed minced meat (or coarse sausages)
2 bell peppers (yellow & red), chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
2 tbsp. tomato purée
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. paprika powder
1/4 cup (60ml) dry red wine (optional)
2 1/2 cups (600ml) veggie stock (plus some more, if necessary)
1 can (14 oz./400g) chunky tomatoes
salt, pepper
10.6 oz. (300g) Kritharaki pasta (Orzo)
feta or shepherd’s cheese to your liking
some spring onion, chopped
Instructions
1. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Wash and dry the bell peppers and zucchini, then cut into bite-sized pieces. Prepare the rest of the ingredients and keep them ready. If you are using sausages instead of minced meat, remove the sausage meat from the casings and mash it a little.
2. Heat some oil in a Dutch oven* and sauté the onion and garlic briefly. As soon as the onions got some color, add the minced meat or sausage meat and cook for a few minutes. As soon as the meat is nicely browned, add the bell peppers and zucchini pieces and cook briefly with meat and onions. Next, add the tomato purée, dried oregano, and paprika powder. Mix everything well and sauté briefly. Deglaze with the red wine (optional), allow the wine to cook down almost completely, then add the veggie stock and the chunky tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, reduce the heat slightly and let everything about simmer for about 10 minutes.
3. Add the pasta and cook everything for about 6-8 minutes longer. The pasta should still have a bite. Keep stirring – the small noodles tend to stick to the bottom of the Dutch oven. If the pasta has absorbed a lot of liquid, you can add a little more veggie stock. Season with more salt and pepper, if necessary. Serve in bowls and garnish with feta or shepherd’s cheese and some chopped spring onion, if desired.
Notes
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I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
