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Cheesy Tomato Orzo with Mozzarella & Bacon

Orzo is one of the tiniest pasta shapes out there - at first glance you might mistake one for a grain of rice. They make a great addition to soups and stews, but today we're letting them absorb some flavourful stock, a little like a risotto. An orzotto if you will. Enriched with bacon and not one but two types of cheese, it's a real treat.

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Family Friendly Pasta
Prep: 35 mins
Cook: 35 mins
Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 servings
  • 10 streaky bacon rashers
  • 2 mozzarellas
  • 30 tomato purees
  • 1 dried thyme
  • 360 orzos
  • 300 waters
  • 1 vegetable stock pot
  • 1 finely chopped tomatoes with onion and garlic
  • 1 cherry tomatoes
  • 80 grated hard italian style cheeses
  • 1 baby spinach

Instructions

  1. Cut the streaky bacon into 1cm wide slices. Tear the mozzarella cheese into small pieces. Pop the kettle on to boil.
  2. Heat a drizzle of oil in a large saucepan on a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the bacon slices. Stir and cook until browned and crispy, 3-4 mins. Add the tomato purée and dried thyme. Stir together and cook for 1 minute. Add the orzo to your pan and stir again so it gets a good coating of all the other ingredients.
  3. Next, add the boiling water (amount specified in the ingredient list) to the orzo along with the vegetable stock pot. Stir to dissolve the stock pot. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and cherry plum tomatoes and bring the mixture to the boil. TIP: You can break up the cherry tomatoes with a spoon if your kids are likely to pick them out!
  4. Simmer until the liquid has been absorbed and the orzo is tender, 10-12 mins. TIP: Stir frequently to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. If the liquid is all absorbed before the orzo is cooked, add another splash of water and give it a couple more mins.
  5. When the orzo is cooked, remove from the heat, add the mozzarella pieces and half the hard Italian cheese. Stir together until the cheese has melted. Taste and add salt and pepper if you feel it needs it. TIP: If the kids don't like spinach, serve the orzo now as it is! Roughly chop the baby spinach, then pop it on top of the orzo. Put a lid on the pan so the spinach wilts 3-4 mins, then stir it in.
  6. Serve your cheesy tomato orzo in bowls with the remaining hard Italian cheese sprinkled on top. Enjoy!