Dairy-Free Chorizo and Colorful Bell Pepper Orzo

Orzo is so easy to work with! Recently I've been in favor of cooking orzo compared to other types of pasta. The main reason is that for most of my orzo meals, there's no need to precook such kind of pasta. All I have to do it simply cook the orzo together with the sauce, and it only takes about 15 minutes to do so.

That means less stuff to wash. No big pot of water to boil the orzo nor the strainer. Just one big Dutch oven can get all the jobs done!

Dairy-free chorizo and colorful bell pepper orzo - 

Ingredients (about 5 to 6 portions)?

• 500 grams orzo
• 500 grams/about 5 chorizo
• 400 grams/1 can chopped tomatoes
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper 
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 purple/red onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 small box baby salad greens (I used arugula)
• 1 small bundle parsley
• 800 milliliter chicken stock
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• Some salt
• Some black pepper

How?

Peel and dice the onion. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Destem and remove the pits for all the bell peppers then cut into cubes. Finely chop the parsley. Remove the casing from the chorizo.

Use a Dutch oven or a big pot, drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil and switch to medium heat. Add in diced onion along with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Mix and cook till the onion about to turn brown on the edges.

Add in the chorizo and break them into smaller pieces with a spatula. Cook till the meat starts to change color and some red fat starts to render.

Add in all the chopped bell peppers together with chopped garlic. Continue to cook for about a minute.

Pour in canned tomatoes along with its juice. Mix till evenly blended. Pour in the orzo and mix till evenly blended again.

Pour in 800ml of chicken stock. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to keep it at a light bubbling stage. Continue to cook for about 12 minutes. Remember to stir the mixture once a while, especially the bottom to prevent sticking.

Add in chopped parsley and mix till blended. Continue to cook few more minutes. Mine took about 3 minutes more. You can double check by tasting the orzo, see if it reaches your desired doneness. Note that if the mixture appears too dry but the orzo is not done yet, add more liquid to prevent from drying on the bottom. 

Give it a quick taste and adjust accordingly. I actually added a bit more salt, but it depends especially the chorizo we used varies. Once the flavor has been checked, plate and crack more black pepper throughout. Also top the orzo with some baby greens.

Arugula seems like a good fit. It has a minor bitter taste that can help in balance-off the heavy-tasting seasonings. More so a refreshing break in-between.

On a final note, I especially mentioned that it's a "dairy-free" orzo recipe because for the most of the orzo recipes online, they all contain some sort of diary. Let it be milk, cream, butter, or cheese. That's why I want to emphasize what makes this recipe stands out - "dairy-free." And no yumminess was comprimised during the making of this recipe.  

Other recipes using chorizo:

• Tomato curry and chorizo spaghettini 番茄咖哩義大利麵
• Salmon and chorizo in tangy tomato sauce
• Arroz con chorizo y camarones (rice with chorizo and shrimp)