Who doesn’t love a big comforting bowl of pasta? Nice glass of red on side. Perfect!

Orzo is fast becoming my new favourite pasta and if you haven’t tried it yet, you must. It’s kind of like the risotto rice of the pasta world.

Ingredients

• 175g Orzo pasta
• 2 diced chicken breasts
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 tbsp South Carolina BBQ Rub
• 200g sliced mushrooms
• Handfull of spinach (finely chopped)
• 150ml cream
• 50g grated parmesan
• Fresh basil (finely chopped)
• Salt & pepper

Serves 2

Method

Cook the Orzo pasta for approximately 15 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile in a heavy cast iron casserole dish heat a little olive oil and fry the chopped onion and finely chopped garlic for a few minutes with a little salt and pepper. Add in the diced chicken and continue to brown the ingredients. Add the South Carolina Rub and stir through. Once the chicken has cooked a little, add in the sliced mushrooms. If you want to make it a little more fancy you can use a variety of mushrooms such as chanterelles and porcini.

Once the mushrooms have cooked down and chicken cooked almost all the way through you can add the cream and Parmesan cheese. Add a splash of white wine if you want, it won’t do any harm. Let the mixture reduce, continuing to stir.

Strain the orzo once cooked, retaining some of the cooking water for later, add into the creamy chicken mixture. Combine the ingredients on the heat and add a handful of finely chopped spinach and basil. The spinach is optional but it’s great for getting your 5 a day. Check for seasoning and if the mixture looks a little dry add some of the cooking water to loosen it up. Give it a good stir and check for seasoning.

Plate up and add a little extra grated Parmesan on top. A drizzle of truffle oil goes down a treat too!

It’s super simple and delicious!