If you spot a carton or two of sungold tomatoes at the market, you have to take them home and make this one-pot orzo pasta, STAT. The sweet, citrusy flavour bombs simmer with shallots and garlic into jammy, golden perfection. Orzo then cooks slowly in the sauce, absorbing all that flavour along the way, before being finished with a generous helping of butter and a splash of white balsamic vinegar. It has all the silky creaminess of risotto, in a fraction of the time, and is certifiably delicious.
Equipment
Here’s everything you need to make this sungold orzotto at home:
- large braiser or dutch oven
- immersion or standup blender
- chef’s knife
- cutting board
Get the full ingredients list and instructions below!
Cooking Tips
- If you can’t find sungold tomatoes, cherry or grape will also work. But the true beauty of this dish is in using fresh, peak-summer tomatoes that are bursting with flavour. You might need to adjust the butter and vinegar quantities depending on the variety of tomato you use, so make sure you’re tasting and adjusting as you cook.
- White balsamic is used to balance the richness of the butter by upping the acidity. If you don’t have white balsamic, white wine vinegar or lemon will also work, but these alternatives are lower on the pH scale, so it’s best to start with less than the recipe calls for and adjust as you go!
- Serve it with…Mediterranean beef skewers, lemon-y sheet pan chicken or panko-crusted salmon.
Sungold Tomato Orzotto
A one-pot orzo pasta to highlight the beauty of summer tomatoes
Ingredients
Method
- Cut 500g sungold tomatoes in halves. Thinly slice 2 medium shallots and 5 cloves garlic.
- In a dutch oven heat 1/4 cup olive oil on medium. Once hot, add in sliced shallots and garlic. Cook until soft but not brown, about 5 minutes. When the shallots and garlic are soft, add in the halved tomatoes and season with a generous pinch of salt. Continue cooking on medium-high until the tomatoes burst. You can use a wooden spoon or spatula to help them along!
- Turn off the heat and add 2 cups water to the cooked tomatoes. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Once smooth, add in 1 cup orzo and another 1 cup water. Season again with another generous pinch of salt. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook on low, while continuously stirring, until the orzo is al dente and the sauce has thickened. The pasta might stick to the pot as the sauce thickens, so keep stirring to prevent burning.
- Mix in 4 tbsp unsalted butter, 1/2 cup grated parmesan and 1 tsp white balsamic vinegar. Mix until well combined — the sauce should be thick enough that a line made with a spoon through the pasta holds its shape and does not close for 3-4 seconds. Taste and adjust seasoning — it should be creamy and bright.
- Serve with fresh basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil.
Notes
If using a large braiser, transfer the cooked tomatoes to a blender and pulse until smooth. Beware that a blender with hot contents can explode! I like to remove the lid plug and cover the hole with a kitchen towel, but proceed with caution!
Made this for supper last night and it was delicious. I had to do a few substitutions but followed the general idea. No sun gold tomatoes but I had chocolate cherry tomatoes from our garden that needed using up. Substituted a small onion for the shallots and since I had one cup of homemade chicken stock in the fridge I replaced one cup of the water with it.
It will make a repeat appearance at our table.
Thanks! Now do you have any recipes that use Swiss Chard?
Sounds lovely! I’m so interested in these chocolate cherry garden tomatoes 👀 You can try making my cheese-y leeks and greens or cajun spiced shrimp with swiss chard!
If you cut the tomatoes in half how will they burst?
Maybe that’s not the best way to describe it. But they start to soften and the skin wrinkles! The interior gets jammy and cooks down into a sauce.