sun-dried tomato and basil orzo pasta

if you have searched for a pasta recipe that actually tastes like something from an italian restaurant, i have the recipe for you! i can tell already that this is a recipe i will make repeatedly. the best part: i'm a sucker for sun-dried tomatoes, but the hubs hates them. but what he hates is the texture. but since this recipe requires use of a food processor, the texture is now a non-issue. in other words, my food processor helped reduce marital conflict. reason #2028340923482930234 why it was a worthwhile purchase.

moving on...

ingredients:

2 cups uncooked orzo pasta

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1/3 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

feta

don't get so picky about measuring out the salt and pepper. i just eyeballed it.

directions:

1. bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. 

2. add orzo and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. drain and set aside. 

3. place basil leaves and sun-dried tomatoes in a food processor. pulse until well blended. (the original recipe says to pulse it 4-5 times on high... i went a bit overboard and did it at least three times that much, but i just love my food processor. and i also wanted to make sure that it was REALLY well blended b/c of the hubs's aversion to sun-dried tomatoes.)

4. go back to the pot. add the cooked orzo, the basil-tomato mixture, olive oil, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. mix together.

5. once on the plate, add feta as desired.

  

again... this is going to be a recipe i make repeatedly for the following reasons: 1) the taste is incredible. 2) it's so doggone easy. 3) it has feta... and anyone who knows me knows how much i love feta. thus my signature phrase: "feta make it betta!" 4) it allows me to use my food processor, which i LOVE!!! 5) i get sun-dried tomatoes and the hubs doesn't care!

PERFECT!

when i made this, i had a feeling it would make quite a bit,and it did. so i put it in my meal plan for that week to have two italian main dishes back to back - one was italian crockpot chicken and the other was steak tips with italian barbeque marinade. it paired well with both! add some kind of veggie, and you have a fabulous balanced meal!

fin.