Orzo Pasta With Mom's Mixed Seafood

The other day while shopping at one of my local grocery store, I spotted some fresh seafood mix on ice. It included clams, octopus and mussels. Instantly, that took me straight back to my Mom's seafood pasta dish made with orzo. In case you didn't know Greeks love orzo pasta!

So, what's orzo? It's pasta that's shaped just like large pieces of rice. And, it's easy to cook and very yummy! And creating a orzo seafood is simple enough. All you need is a seafood package mix, a package of orzo pasta and some good olive oil. I'm sharing my mom's recipe which demonstrates simplicity at its best.

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Orzo Pasta Seafood Mix (serves 4)

1 pound mixed seafood (bring to room temperature if frozen)

1 pound orzo pasta

1 green bell pepper, julienned

1 red bell pepper julienned

1 pound of cherry tomatoes, whole

2 cloves of garlic, minced

5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons of white vinegar

½ lemon juiced

Kosher salt

Coarse black pepper

4 quarts of water with 2/3 cup of salt

Large frying pan

Make The Orzo Pasta Seafood

1. Start by bringing salted water (should taste like ocean water) to a rolling boil, then add the orzo. No lid required. After 5 minutes begin to sample the orzo for tenderness. As soon as the orzo is tender, strain the pasta but, save a ¼ cup of pasta water. Remember to give the strained pasta a little mix with a wooden spoon to prevent the orzo from sticking together.

2. While the orzo is cooling, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Saute the garlic, cherry tomatoes, green and red bell pepper until the bell peppers just begin to soften. Now add salt, pepper and then add the seafood mix. Next, add the vinegar and lemon juice while continuing to cook until the seafood mix just starts to firm up, 2-4 minutes max.

3. Finally, add the drained orzo into the frying pan, mix, then add the ¼ cup of reserved pasta water. Stir and cook for 1 minute.

4. Serve in a large platter. Finally, sprinkle with coarse pepper and drizzle on remaining olive oil all over the top of the pasta dish. Enjoy!