


Orzo with Pesto, Shrimp, Eggplant and Artichokes
Add your favorite veggies and your choice of protein in this versatile Orzo dish with pesto.
Author: Lemons & Anchovies
Serves: 2-3
Ingredients
- ½ pound orzo pasta, cooked according to package directions
- ½ bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup eggplant, diced
- 4-5 frozen artichoke heart pieces, defrosted in microwave
- A handful of shrimp (I didn't measure how much I used but feel free to add as little or as much as you want)
- ½ - ⅔ cup pesto sauce (My favorite pesto recipe uses pistachios for a nuttier sauce. Recipe here: http://bit.ly/P7cELG )
- Olive Oil for sautéing and drizzling
- Fresh lemon juice (optional)
- salt and pepper, taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil (2-3 tablespoons) over medium-high heat in a sauté pan. Add the artichoke pieces and cook for 2 minutes until they start to get brown on the edges. Add the shrimp, bell pepper and eggplant and cook for another 3-4 minutes just until the vegetables start to get soft and the shrimp are pink. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the stove and remove from heat.
- From here it's just a matter of tossing all the other ingredients together.
- In a large bowl, add the orzo and pesto and toss until the pasta is coated with the latter. Add the veggie and shrimp mixture and stir to combine. Add more pesto sauce if you feel it needs more flavor. I like to drizzle mine with a little extra olive oil and about 1 tablespoon lemon juice right before serving.
- This will serve 2-3 as a main course and more as a side (can omit the shrimp if serving as a side dish).
I want to live in your neighborhood with all those amazing dining options! I love orzo but always forget about it – I like that it’s the star of the show here with fresh pesto and those fantastic toppers. Scrumptious!
Wondrous dish, Jean. Fresh pesto is a boon to any pasta dish and I quite love your selection of vegetables here. Complete, healthy, satisfying – perfect, in a word!
A great combination! That refined dish looks absolutely scrumptious.
Cheers,
Rosa
All of my favorite ingredients are on that plate!! How exceptionally lovely and tasty!! 🙂
I love me some pesto and it always has to be homemade. Store bought is not a patch on home made. All the flavours in this dish work for me. How lovely to have such a favourite restaurant which you know will always deliver.
This must taste so good. The combination is wonderful.
Oh, hear yea, hear yea on the regular restaurant routines 🙂 Hehe.
This dish looks absolutely terrific…I love pesto on anything! And orzo – kinda like rice and kinda like pasta – it’s a dream-come-true kind of carb for me!
Looks like magic to me. GREG
So funny you talked about regular restaurants – we always go to the same restaurants too because we think those are the best and we know what to order, the owner has been nice, the money is well spent as we know the food is amazing… anyway, I should go to your neighborhood to try something new! 😉 What a beautiful pasta! I never paid attention that there is frozen artichoke? I should look into that. Sound easy to use especially for a small portion!
Looks really tasty Jean, love the pesto and the shrimp in this recipe paired with the orzo.
I love the look of this dish! I happen to have all of these ingredients in my house right now as well… how convenient!