Orzo Stuffed Tomatoes

 

There’s no doubt how much my daughter Arianna loves tomatoes; if I let her, she’ll eat the entire container before we leave the market, so I always end up buying extra, just so I’ll have some leftover to add to my dishes. Today we decided down the middle on dinner, she loves tomatoes and my love for Orzo Pasta is borderline crazy.

 

“Orzo” is Italian for "barley” and is sometimes referred to as "Italian rice" because its’ shape is similar to a grain of rice. It’s great in soups and casseroles but today we are using them to stuff tomatoes, served alongside a grilled shrimp salad with a balsamic dressing.

 

   

Ingredients:

1 cup orzo pasta

2 large tomatoes  

3 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove of garlic, crushed
8 kalamata olives, sliced

½ red onion, diced

2 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated

 

 Directions:

• Cook the orzo according to package & drain
• Heat skillet over medium heat
• Add 3 tablespoon of olive oil
• Add garlic to infuse the oil, and remove so it doesn’t burn
• Add onions & olives
• Add cooked orzo, salt, pepper, paprika, chopped herbs and parmesan cheese
• Toss thoroughly, cover and let heat through   

• Wash and cut the top from the tomatoes
• Hollow out with a spoon (i used a grapefruit spoon) and sprinkle a little salt on the inside
• Stuff tomatoes with orzo mixture, sprinkle with parmasan cheese and serve