Greek Orzo

I made a very similar recipe to this when I first moved to Arkansas. One of my favorite bloggers, Christina over at Hungry Meets Healthy commented that she makes a similar dish. The only significant difference in the recipes is that she uses fresh tomatoes in hers, while the one that I used called for canned.

I love all tomatoes, and thought the first recipe was great, but Graham thought the tomatoes were overpowering. Once I made this with fresh tomatoes, I realized that he was right. Using fresh tomatoes made such a huge difference in the flavor. It tasted brighter, it felt less heavy, and it was so, so delicious. I added a few more things to the recipe, because I can't fathom eating feta and tomatoes, and not having artichoke hearts & kalamata olives.

This is absolutely one of my favorite pasta dishes (I know it's hard to think of orzo as pasta, since it looks like rice), and it's such a nice dinner leading into the warmer months.

Greek Orzo 
(Adapted from this recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of uncooked orzo
• 2 T. of olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 t. of crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 cups of chopped tomatoes
• 1 14 oz. can of artichoke hearts, drained & cut in half
• 1/2 cup of sliced kalamata olives
• 1/2 cup of white wine (I use Yellow Tail Pinot Grigio)
• 1/2 lb. of shrimp, peeled & tails removed
• 1/2 cup of crumbled feta
• 2 T. of chopped, fresh oregano
• 2 T. of chopped flat leaf parsley (optional)
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 
2. Cook the orzo according to package directions. Drain & set aside. 
3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook onion until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic & red pepper flakes and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. 
4. De-glaze the pan with the wine, then add the tomatoes, artichoke hearts, olives and the oregano. Bring mixture to a simmer and let cook for 5 minutes.
5. Mix cooked orzo and the shrimp with the tomato mixture. Transfer to a baking dish. Sprinkle the feta over the top and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the shrimp is cooked through. 

Makes four-six servings, depending on how hungry you are... Sprinkle with extra feta and chopped flat leaf parsley. 

Enjoy!