Orzo with Sausage and Asparagus
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This dish is from my 52 New Recipes project, and I've made it several times since.
Which is a very good sign that it's a keeper.
Not only is it tasty, it's also a quick one-dish meal (the cooking time is less than 20 minutes!)
Another vote in its favor: it uses chicken broth, which is 1) super healthy and 2) pretty much always in my freezer.
(Here's how I make my homemade chicken broth.)
The original recipe called for broccoli rabe, but I've never had that on hand. So, I've always used chopped asparagus instead.
Also, I've never used the Peppadew peppers the recipe calls for, since most of my family dislikes hot stuff.
<disenchanted sigh>
I do sometimes throw in some red or yellow bell peppers for some color, but of course, that adds zero spice.
Oh, and, I use cheap cooking wine because I never have wine sitting around the house. Also because I am frugal.
I know that cooking wine is legitimately terrible, but I guess the Family FG has underdeveloped palates. 😉
On the other hand, I do use an actual block of Parmesan cheese instead of the powdery stuff. So, you know, it all balances out.
(Aldi wooed me into the world of Parmesan cheese wedges by offering them at super affordable prices. So now my frugal self can use fancy cheese.)
The Parmesan melts beautifully when tossed with the hot orzo, and it gives the dish a more saucy consistency than it would have otherwise. Definitely don't skip it!
Orzo with Sausage and Broccoli
Printable Orzo with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe
serves 4
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces broccoli rabe or asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 ½-inch pieces
¼ teaspoon salt
4 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 ¼ cups chicken broth
1 ¼ cups orzo
¼ cup dry white wine
½ cup thinly sliced jarred hot Peppadew peppers
â…“ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Heat a tablespoon of the oil in a large non-stick or cast iron skillet until it shimmers. Add the broccoli rabe or asparagus, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes (broccoli rabe) or 4 minutes (asparagus).
Add half of the garlic, and cook for a few minutes more, or until the vegetables are tender. Transfer the veggies to a plate, tent with foil (I actually never do that!), and set aside.
Add remaining tablespoon of oil to pan and heat until it shimmers. Add sausage, and cook until browned; add remaining garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.
Stir in broth, orzo, and white wine, and heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until orzo is al dente and most of the liquid has been absorbed.
Sprinkle broccoli rabe or asparagus, Peppadews (if using), and Parmesan cheese over top, and gently mix to combine.
Top servings with extra grated Parmesan if you want (more Parmesan is always fabulous, dear friends.)
Recipe is from a Cook's Country magazine, which is SO my favorite cooking magazine. It almost never fails to give me a good, solid main dish recipe in each issue, which is exactly the cooking help I need most. Go subscribe!
(I am not affiliated with Cook's Country and I'm not sponsored to recommend their magazine. I just find it to be really helpful.)
Woo yummy! My MIL and hubby use Chinese cooking wine in their cooking pretty often. We put it in pork bone soup and many other dishes to get rid of the smell. And it works!
The orzo dish looks really good. Your family is so lucky! 😉
Made this dish and its simple and great. I used cooked turkey sausage and added them in a few minutes after the asparagus and peppers. Then, instead of taking everything out of the pan, I push it aside and sauté the orzo then add the liquids and let it all cook with the veggies and sausages for added one dish flavor.
Mix in cheese and oregano and pepper. YUM!
I am all in for quick dishes! This one sounds really good -- I like Italian sausage, asparagus, pasta and Parmesan, so what's not to love?
I’m also too frugal to cook with semi decent wine 🙂 and use cooking wine! Glad to know I’m not other alone!
Cooking wine here as well! And, I have made this easy, super quick, delicious dish too!
This is so timely! I have both sausage and orzo in my cabinet that I need to use up. 🙂 I make my own wine and I use it for cooking. I really like to plan when I strain wine so I can use the "leftover" bits for making soups and sauces. Waste not!
Wow, that is next-level...making your own wine!
Sounds yummy! Sorry to ask but what exactly is a orzo? Can it be sub with rice?
Oh! Orzo is a small pasta that is shaped like rice. The cooking time is shorter than that of rice, though, so you'd have to tinker with the recipe a bit.
Here in Australia, it's also known as risoni 🙂
That recipe is making me hungry!
I happily used cooking wine for many years but I made the switch from cooking wine to the $3 wine from trader joes and like it much better. I am astonished at how much sodium is in "cooking wine."
SUMMARY: Use vermouth instead of cooking wine.
EXPLANATION: Cooking wine is cruddy wine that is further ruined by the addition of vast amounts of salt. It was developed during Prohibition and intended to be undrinkable. There are a couple of good alternatives that taste much better and won't break the bank.
Lorraine has already mentioned one option: Trader Joe's. They have a large number of very inexpensive wines, and the staff to help you find something that will work for you. That said, the wine will go bad or turn acrid if it sits around for more than a few weeks.
Vermouth is the solution I prefer. Unlike wine, it doesn't turn acrid. It is inexpensive and definitely drinkable. Nuilly Pratt Dry Vermouth is a good sub for any white wine cooking need. It's also for Chinese Rice Wine[1]. I even keep my sliced ginger in a jar of vermouth, ensuring I always have some on hand.
[1] Which is very different from sake, and also very hard to find in the US.
Seconded on the dry vermouth. That's what I use for white wine in cooking, too.
Thanks for that tip! I can easily keep a bottle of Vermouth around, as opposed to wine which goes bad so quickly and the tip on keeping ginger in it is sheer genius.
Oh, ok! None of us drink wine here, so the prospect of trying to keep wine fresh was a large part of what was holding me back.
You can also freeze wine in small batches (2T or so) but I find dry vermouth easier.
And... look what CI posted on its website this week:
https://www.cooksillustrated.com/articles/565-tasting-dry-vermouth
It's like they read our comments section!
I use Aldi's Winking Owl wine (white)for cooking. I think it comes in at the massive price of $3.50 a bottle? I just stick the cork back in and refrigerate what I don't use. We are still alive. I think, if you were to actually drink it, it would be not so great, but cooked in a recipe, it's fine. I dislike lots of added sodium so I prefer to go this route. The purists will disagree with me, but that's ok. 😉
Sadly, my Aldi doesn't carry wine (regulations!). Otherwise, I would totally do that.
I made this tonight with hot sausage, peppadew peppers and kale. Delicious.
Yay! I'm so glad it was tasty.
I agree, this recipe sounds delicious. You can also substitute extra stock for wine. I learnt from Nigella Lawson that you can freeze wine - she puts freshly opened leftover wine in 1/2 cup measures in the freezer, we tried it and it works; the alcohol won't completely freeze so it's more like a firm slushy. so you do have to keep the container upright to avoid leaks. I do find my risotto is much better when the first ladle is wine but I follow the rule to only cook with wine I would enjoy drinking as it's the wine flavour you are left with.
I made this when you posted it in May and I think we've had it about once a month since, as it's sooo good! I've used the broccoli rabe and asparagus versions...can't always find broccoli rabe in my stores so an alternate is good. Wonder what else would work.
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I made it with what I had, which meant broccoli and chicken sausage, and it was delicious. Definitely a keeper!
Funnily enough, I simply don't like the taste of wine so I buy the individual servings of wine and keep until needed. I usually have one red and one white for recipes and replace as needed. I figure a cheap drinking wine is supposed to be better than a cooking wine so I'm probably fine.
Our family doesn’t care for broccoli or asparagus. Can you recommmend another veggie I could substitute and still have it taste yummy?
How about sweet peppers?