Photo by William P. Edwards / iStock
Serves 2
½ tablespoon organic butter
½ tablespoon olive oil
½ medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Half of a 7-ounce jar roasted red peppers, chopped
½ teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon kosher salt, separated
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1½ cups unsalted vegetable stock
1½ cups water
½ pound orzo pasta
¼ cup coarsely chopped basil
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, warm butter and olive oil. Add the onion, and saute until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, and saute another minute. Add the red peppers, ½ teaspoon salt and crushed red pepper flakes to the onion-and-garlic mixture. Saute an additional 3–4 minutes or until all ingredients are combined. Remove from heat.
In another medium saucepan, combine vegetable stock and water, and bring to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the orzo pasta. Cook according to package directions, about 7–8 minutes. Reserve approximately 1 cup of cooking liquid before draining pasta.
Add drained pasta to the pot containing the onion-and-pepper mixture. Stir with a rubber spatula, being sure to incorporate the vegetables throughout the pasta. Add the basil and Parmesan cheese, and stir to combine. If the pasta looks dry, gradually add some of the reserved cooking water until properly moistened. Serve hot. (If orzo is prepared the day ahead, reheat in the microwave.)
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Recipe tips
What’s the best way to cook pasta?
- Water: Use 1 gallon of water per 1 pound of pasta.
- Salting the water: Use 2–3 tablespoons for every gallon of water.
- Adding pasta to the water: Add all at once and stir immediately to prevent pasta from sticking together.
- Cooking time: Use the suggested cooking time as a guide, but check a few minutes before the end time. Pasta should be served “al dente,” meaning tender but firm to the bite.
- Adding oil to the water: Don’t do it! Adding oil to the water prevents the pasta from absorbing the sauce.
- Draining: Save ½ cup of the cooking liquid; you may use some to finish the pasta with the sauce.
- Rinsing pasta: Don’t rinse unless you are serving cold pasta in a salad. To prevent it from sticking or clumping together, if not serving immediately, stir in a cup of sauce.
- Amount per person: As the main course, 4 ounces; as a side, 2 ounces. For uncooked spaghetti noodles, 2 ounces is a handful with a diameter about the size of a quarter. For uncooked elbow macaroni, 2 ounces measures about half a cup.
Stock or broth? The difference is in the ingredients. Stocks are made with bones and vegetables and contain no seasoning or salt. Broths are made with meat and vegetables and are seasoned. Both can be used as the base for soups and sauces. However, the gelatinous quality of stock (from the bones’ marrow) makes it better than broth for deglazing pans and is often used in place of butter or creams to make sauces. If a recipe calls for stock, broth can be substituted—just remember to adjust for the salt and seasonings already included.
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