Friday date night: Chicken & Sun-Dried Tomato Orzo Recipe

  Chicken & Sun-Dried Tomato Orzo

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Dine in on a Friday night and create this restaurant-worthy meal at home. The sun-dried tomatoes and Parmesan cheese packs a lot of flavor into this simple orzo dish. Most sun-dried tomatoes are packed in oil, so to avoid adding all that extra oil to the dish, just rinse the tomatoes under the sink and pat them dry. Although it doesn't take out all the oil, it cuts down on a lot of the fat.

Orzo is traditionally used in soups, but this very versatile rice-shaped pasta is a great substitute for pasta. It has all the firm “al dente” texture and its authentic Italian taste adds a new dimension to a traditional favorite. It might look like rice, but orzo is made of hard wheat semolina. You can also substitute fresh pasta for orzo in this dish. At Cube Café in Los Angeles, shoppers can buy fresh pasta and ravioli from their marketplace along with various other artisan crafted gourmet foods. This rustic Italian-inspired dish is great served with some sautéed greens.

Tip: Since the pasta is so small, it can easily slip through the cracks of a pasta strainer. A fine sieve can be used to drain orzo, or you can line a regular colander with cheesecloth.

Chicken & Sun-Dried Tomato Orzo
4 servings
Ingredients
• 8 ounces orzo, preferably whole-wheat
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes, (not oil-packed), divided
• 1 plum tomato, diced
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Salt & pepper
• 1 can artichoke hearts
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
• Dill (optional)

Directions
1. Cook orzo in a large saucepan of boiling water until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes or according to package directions. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, place 1 cup water, 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, plum tomato, garlic, 2 teaspoons oregano and vinegar in a blender. Blend until just a few chunks remain.
3. Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, adjusting the heat as necessary to prevent burning, until golden outside and no longer pink in the middle, 3 to 5 minutes per side.
4. Pour the tomato sauce into the pan and bring to a boil. Add the orzo, artichoke hearts and cheese. Cook, stirring, until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Divide among 4 plates.
5. Slice the chicken. Top each portion of pasta with sliced chicken, tomato sauce and a sprinkling of cheese and dill.

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