Gemma This garlic, lemon, pepper and courgette orzo is the kind of bish, bash, bosh meal that we eat mid-week. It’s vegetarian, full of flavour, fresh and everyone in the family loves it. It makes brilliant lunch box leftovers but mostly the magic of this recipe is in the speed at which it can be made. I can make this dish in 20 minutes.
Feeding a family can be hard. On the days I work I don’t have bags of time for prep. We all want to eat and keep the pots and stress to a minimum. We started Family Feed as a way to share ideas with other families because ‘what to cook’ is often the hardest part. Meals like this courgette orzo allow me to add lots of colour and veg but without sacrificing comfort and satisfaction. Courgettes are in season from June – October. We grow our own and soon I will have lots of fresh produce from the garden at my fingertips.
Courgette & orzo
Courgettes are a source of a mineral called potassium. Potassium helps to keep our muscles working properly so we can move around which is great for the whole family, especially the youngest ones who don’t stop. Orzo (a type of pasta that looks very similar to rice) is a wonderful storecupboard ingredient. You can add it to soups and salads but in this recipe, it’s the star of the show. My children love orzo and cooking courgette this way helps me to get it into their diet. They don’t tend to like it grilled or fried in large pieces. In this recipe, the courgette is finely diced and soft making it easy to chew and similar in size to the orzo which I find makes a big difference… the occasional joy of empty plates!
Cooking as a woman
If you are looking for a new recipe to bring to the table this summer this is the perfect suggestion. I love to cook and when I don’t cook I feel out of control, like an essential part of me is not in the room. But that doesn’t mean that I always relish cooking or have lots of time to spare. I am busy, stretched and most of the time I’m tired and distracted too. Food like this is at the heart of family life for us.
Feeding my family in this way makes me feel connected to all the women in my heritage who have cooked and provided for their families. Those women have cooked for their families under pressure I can’t imagine and yet when I sit at the table and watch my family eat I feel connected to the lessons and love that they passed on. They will always be a part of our table and traditions thanks to my wonderful Mum who showed me the way.
Garlic, lemon, pepper and courgette orzo
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 2 peppers red, orange or yellow work best
- 1 courgette
- 4 cloves of garlic
- zest of ½ lemon
- 250 g orzo
- 1.5 tbsp oregano
- salt and pepper
- extra virgin olive oil
- feta to serve
- parmesan to serve
Instructions
- Finely dice all your veg and finely slice your garlic then set aside.
- In a pan of boiling water add 250g orzo and cook al dente (this was about 6-7 minutes for me)
- Fry your veg in extra virgin olive oil until soft then add the garlic. Give it a good stir and continue to fry for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the oregano, a little more olive oil, and about a ladle worth of pasta water from your orzo (if some orzo goes with it that’s fine) give everything a good stir. The starch from the pasta water will help to create a silky dressing for the orzo.
- Drain your orzo and add it to the pan with the veg. Mix thoroughly, add the lemon zest and continue stirring until fully combined.
- Season the pasta. I took a little out for the children before I added sea salt but you don’t need to do that.
- You can serve this as is. I served with a grating of parmesan, some crumbled feta, freshly ground black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
Video
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