Orzo Pasta with Winter Squash and Blue Cheese

Orzo or rosmarino, whatever you choose, we have a dried pasta that cooks like an easy risotto... in only 10 minutes.  

This has to be an eye opener if you're a first timer to this pasta shape.

In brief, we crisp some sliced bacon, soften diced squash and tip both into the almost cooked pasta (with blue cheese and parmesan).  Garnish with a little chopped sage.

Pretty, I like to think.

I'm being bold declaring this Italian.  I think it's more English.  That's ok, I used English blue cheese from Wensleydale in North Yorkshire.  

Ingredients (2):

4 rashers dry cured smoked steaky bacon (sliced and crisped)

200g winter squash, peeled and diced

50g blue cheese, cubed

20g parmesan, grated

1 240ml cup of orzo (approx 170g)

2 cups of vegetable stock (or half vegetable and half chicken

1 tsp bacon fat + 1tsp butter

Method:

Crisp bacon in pan and remove.

Soften the squash in a clean pan with 1/2 tsp bacon fat and 1/2 tsp butter.  It will take around 10 minutes, lid on, low heat.

Toast the pasta in remaining fat and butter.

Add the stock and simmer.

After 8 minutes add bacon.

Finally stir in the cheese, blue cubes and half of the parmesan.

Garnish with finely chopped sage and the remaining parmesan.

More similar pasta inspiration:

Casarecce with Scorched Pachino

Gnocchi with Pumpkin Sage and Sausage