Rob has this weird quirk. When he can’t find anything to eat at home, and he’s dying of starvation, he starts to raid my endless reserves of random pasta. There’s always some sort of half-used bag of pasta in my pantry, so he does this quite often. I’ve even caught him in the act a few times.
There’s rarely ever any sauce in the house, so do you know what he does?
He eats the pasta with just pepper and parmesan. I think this is super bizarre, but then I remember: it’s actually a thing.
Cacio e pepe.
Most fancy Italian restaurants serve it up. Sure, they usually use spaghetti or angel hair pasta. Rob, on the other hand, will use any pasta.
Leftover macaroni: check. Random lasagna noodles sheets: you betcha. Rigatoni, bucatini, bow ties—they all make this list.
Rob’s done it all.
If you need any info on cacio e pepe, I guess give my husband a call. He’s apparently a master at it.
The only pasta-item he’s never touched in the pantry is orzo. I think he’s confused by it. Is it rice? Is it pasta? What sorcery is this?
Orzo, for those unaware, is absolutely pasta. It just happens to come in rice-shapes. It’s like gnocchi pasta: pasta, not potato dough, that comes in gnocchi shapes. Maybe after this Rob will eat orzo in his cacio e pepe. Maybe.
Since Rob isn’t touching my orzo reserve, I had to use it up in something. I have two half-empty containers in my pantry right now taking up precious room I need for Christmas-cookie making items. Soup’s on, I guess.
Unfortunately, we’ve had a relatively mild winter thus far, so I haven’t had a need for soup in my life. However, this soup sure can hit the spot even on a warm winter day. The only thing I should’ve done differently was to top it with feta! That’s all this soup needed. It’s got everything else I love: sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, and capers. A fresh squeeze of lemon juice at the end brightens it up to make a wonderful dinner.
Greek Chicken Noodle Soup
A zesty Greek soup with chicken, orzo, sun-dried tomatoes, olives and capers.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. chicken breast
- 1 TBS. Greek seasoning
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 2 TBS. olive oil
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 7 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, sliced
- 1/4 cup capers
- 1/2 tsp. dried basil
- 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
- 1 1/2 cups orzo, uncooked
- Juice of 1 lemon
Directions
- Season chicken with Greek seasoning. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove to a plate to let cool. Chop into bite-size pieces.
- Heat remaining tablespoon oil in same pot/Dutch oven. Add garlic and green onions and saute until fragrant, about a minute. Add wine and scrape brown bits off bottom of pot.
- Stir in broth, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, capers, basil, thyme, and cooked chicken. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cover. Simmer or 15 minues.
- Add orzo and cook for a remaining 8-10 minutes until pasta is tender. Squeeze in lemon juice and serve.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Season chicken with Greek seasoning. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove to a plate to let cool. Chop into bite-size pieces.
Heat remaining tablespoon oil in same pot/Dutch oven. Add garlic and green onions and saute until fragrant, about a minute. Add wine and scrape brown bits off bottom of pot.
Stir in broth, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, capers, basil, thyme, and cooked chicken. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cover. Simmer or 15 minues.
Add orzo and cook for a remaining 8-10 minutes until pasta is tender. Squeeze in lemon juice and serve.
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