Roast Tomato Orzo
This orzo pasta salad is bursting with flavour from the roasted tomatoes, roasted garlic, fresh thyme and dukkah spice mix. This recipe can be prepped in advance, making it a great choice for summer lunches or a barbecue side dish.
Introduction
Your oven does all the hard work in this recipe, turning the tomatoes all burnished, sticky and intensely sweet. And like most roast tomato dishes, the flavours get even better with time, so this is a nice option if you need to make something hearty in advance. A scattering of dukkah brings a smoky, spiced crunch to the silky orzo pasta. I like to make my own jar of dukkah (page 20, Salad Feasts) to have at hand for different salads and eggs in the morning, but if that sounds like too much forward planning, most supermarkets sell a version. Keep in mind there’s salt in the dukkah that will season the orzo; you’ll probably find it doesn’t need much more.
Ingredients
| 600 g (1 lb 5 oz) | ripe cherry tomatoes small bunch |
| (15 g/½ oz) | thyme, leaves only |
| 2 tbsp | olive oil |
| ½ tsp | sea salt flakes |
| ¼ tsp | cracked black pepper |
| ½ tsp | chilli flakes (optional) |
| 1 tsp | ground cumin |
| 2 large | garlic cloves |
| 300 g (10½ oz) | orzo |
| large bunch (30 g/1 oz) | flat-leaf parsley, leaves only |
| 1 | lemon |
| 3 tbsp | dukkah (optional) |
Method
First, preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F/Gas 7) and bring a medium pan of water to the boil. Slice the tomatoes, some in halves, some in quarters, then add to a large roasting tray in a single layer. Scatter over the thyme leaves and add the oil, salt, pepper, chilli flakes (if using), cumin and garlic (leave the skins on). Gently toss and roast for 15 minutes. Remove and reserve the garlic then roast the tomatoes for a further 5 minutes until starting to catch at the edges.
Meanwhile, boil the orzo in the pan of water over a medium heat for the time stated on the packet (around 8–10 minutes for al dente). Refresh under cold water to stop the pasta cooking then drain completely. Roughly chop the parsley leaves.
To assemble: Squeeze the roasted garlic flesh into the roasting tray. Using a fork, mash the garlic and half of the tomatoes into a chunky pulp. Add the cooked orzo into the tray then zest in the lemon. Squeeze in the juice of half the lemon then taste; you may want to add more lemon depending on the acidity/sweetness of your tomatoes. Add the parsley then stir everything together, ensuring you scrape all the nice sticky bits off the bottom of the tray. Transfer to a large platter then scatter with the dukkah, if using, to finish.
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