Orzotto Puttanesca

Puttanesca is an Italian dish that originated in Naples,

typically served with spaghetti. This rendition is a easy weeknight

one-pot wonder -

it’s saucy, salty, briny, and rich

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 2-3 cloves of garlic, lightly smashed and peeled

• 2-3 anchovy filets

• 2 pint containers of cherry tomatoes

• ½ c castelvetrano olives, smashed and pits removed and smashed (you can sub in black olives here if you wish - I just love castelvetranos) 

• 2 tbs capers

• 1 ¼ c orzo

• 3 c chicken or vegetable broth (or water)

• Chopped basil or flat-leaf parsley for garnish (optional) 

• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat olive oil over low-medium heat, then add in anchovies and garlic until fragrant and the anchovies break down a bit. You also want your garlic to get a bit golden. 

Add in tomatoes all at once and let them heat over low heat, semi-covered until the skins on the tomatoes start to burst. You can hasten this along by pushing gently on the tomatoes so that their juices burst, follow this with all of the tomatoes so that the juices become saucy. Let the tomatoes break down for about 10-20 minutes over low heat until everything becomes a bit saucy. 

Stir in the capers and olives. Add in orzo and your broth, bring everything to a boil. Once the liquid is boiling, bring the heat down to just a simmer and let the orzo cook until it's tender and most of the liquid is nearly gone. You’ll want to give healthy stirs throughout this process every couple of minutes, as the orzo can tend to stick a bit to the bottom of the pan.