Baked Orzo & Eggplant
I hope you make it, it’s delicious! Also good for repurposing into a salad 😀.
Ingredients
1 lemon (zest only)
8 oz Smoked Mozzarella, cut into cubes (size of dice)
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock
8 ounces orzo pasta
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
4 cups spring mix salad greens, toss with vinaigrette
1 large eggplant, diced into ½" pieces
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, small dice
1 carrot, small dice
1 rib celery, small dice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Set a pan filled with salted water to boil, when boiling add orzo – cook only till al dente (not quite cooked all the way through -it will continue cook while baking in the oven.
Dice eggplant into ½" pieces. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat with olive oil. I like to use my large cast iron. Add eggplant and fry for 6 -8 minutes, stirring occasionally sprinkle with a bit of salt.
Add onion, carrot, celery, and minced garlic to the pan with the eggplant. Add dried oregano, and lemon zest, and ‘salt to taste’ ( about ½ teaspoon. Cook for 5 minutes.
Stir tomato paste into the vegetable mixture and cook for 2 minutes. Add cooked orzo, stock, and diced tomatoes. Bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat, tuck cubes of smoked .mozzarella into the orzo.& veg mix. Top with fresh sliced tomatoes, parmesan cheese, a bit of dried oregano and salt.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Prepare salad: Toss spring mix with dressing of choice.