Homemade Italian Sausage Zucchini Orzo
- Yield 3
- Prep 5 minutes
- Cook 30 minutes
- Total 35 minutes
Homemade Italian Sausage Zucchini Orzo is a pasta recipe on Avoteb. The yield on the card is 3. Plan on 35 minutes from start to plate. The amounts and the method are both on this page.
Ingredients
Yield: 3 servings
- 1 pound Italian sausage (spicy, mild or sweet)
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 small zucchini, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
- 1 (14-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 ½ cups beef or chicken stock
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup chopped fresh basil
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
- 3 ounces (about 2 large handfuls) fresh baby spinach
- fine sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Method
Leave the sausage and veggies. Warm a large stockpot over medium-a hot burner. Tip in the sausage and cook until browned, using a wooden spoon to break up and stir the sausage occasionally as it cooks. Stir in the onion, zucchini, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes and continue cooking for 5 to 6 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened.
Let it bubble gently. Tip in the orzo, tomato sauce, beef (or chicken) stock and stir to combine. Continue cooking until the sauce reaches a let it bubble gently, stirring the pasta frequently so that it does not stick and burn on the bottom of the pan. Lower heat to medium-low or whatever temperature is needed to maintain a low let it bubble gently. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the orzo is al dente. The sauce will become fairly thick, but if you believe it needs more liquid, just add in more stock as needed to finish cook
Tip in the final ingredients. Stir in the heavy cream, basil, Parmesan and baby spinach until the spinach begins to wilt.
Salt Taste and season with salt, pepper and/or additional basil if needed.
Plate Plate warm, garnished with lots of freshly-grated Parmesan, and enjoy!
