Creamy orzo with sausage, spinach and shredded courgette
I wouldn’t consider myself a conspiracy theorist, but I’m certain that there has to be some ulterior, nefarious reason for why spinach comes in such large bags. I bought a bag last week, I feel like I’ve eaten some every day, and yet there is still about two thirds of a bag left in the fridge, crying out to be eaten. Not to be defeated by Big Spinach’s agenda, today’s meal attempts to use up my remaining leafy greens, and also a courgette I had knocking about. Enter the room: sausage and spinach orzo.
My ingredients were inspired by Mob’s recipe for Creamy Garlicky Prawn Orzo (substituting prawn for sausage and cream for Greek yoghurt), but the method strays quite a bit. In Mob’s recipe, you are instructed to prep all of your ingredients and then encase them in a baking-paper envelope before cooking in the oven. The liquid from the grated courgette should steam the orzo, and you’re left with a delicious dish. That felt like too much faff for a weeknight meal, so I opted to whack everything in one pan instead.
I started off by browning my sausage in a pan, followed by a quick deglaze with some white wine vinegar. Next, it was in with garlic, shredded courgette and lemon zest. Once those flavours had mingled, I added the orzo and yoghurt. It was all looking a bit dry, so I added a splash of water to the mix. Just before the end, I added the spinach to wilt, a squeeze of lemon juice, and reintroduced the sausages.
Rating Link to heading
This dish was really enjoyable; I liked that the acidity from the vinegar and the lemon offset the creaminess, and sausage always makes me happy. I also like the fact that I was able to use up quite a few bits and bobs from my fridge. Unfortunately, my keenness to eat got the better of me, so my orzo was slightly underdone. Additionally, as ever, my presentation leaves a lot to be desired.
Overall, a tasty dish with room for improvement.
7/10