Things tend to hurt at this point in winter: toes cramped from shoving them into snowboots while wearing thick woolen socks, tailbone aching after a spill on the icy driveway, the tips of ears still burning from the cold even after you come indoors. What’s getting to me this winter is the ache in my jaw, from too many times bracing myself and clenching my teeth as an icy wind whistles past. I’ve said goodbye to crusty sandwiches and chewy steaks until spring. For the time being, I am tucking into softer, more comforting fare, like this one-pot, creamy orzotto in an arrabbiata-style tomato sauce. A great companion to Chianti Classico and other succulent Italian reds, this pasta will be sure to soothe any pain until you head back to the frigid outdoors.
For those unfamiliar with orzotto, it’s all in the name: It’s a risotto-like dish, but instead of rice, it’s made with grain-shaped orzo pasta. That’s right, orzo is for winter-time too, not just summer pasta salads and pestos. When cooked slowly, with liquid added little by little and stirred frequently to build starch, orzo turns into a creamy and decadent dish, so tender you might want to eat it with a spoon. (Orzo could be swapped with other small pasta, like ditalini or pastina.)
The sauce itself takes its cues from the Roman arrabbiata sauce: olive oil, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, tomato. Finito! To add more texture to the orzo, take whole peeled tomatoes out of the can and crush them with your hands to get the sauce to your desired consistency. In Korean, they have the word son-mat, or taste of the hand, the idea that someone’s food is made better by the touch of their own hands. You might feel a bit squeamish at first at how the tomatoes feel, or you might find crushing them therapeutic, but doing this step by hand helps each cook control the texture a bit more. (Plus, the tomatoes taste fresher than pre-crushed tomatoes because less surface area is in contact with the metal can.)
With such a simple base, this dish is easily adaptable: guanciale or pancetta could be added to the onion while it cooks and peas or a handful of arugula could be added at the last minute for a pop of green. One option in this recipe is to add a spare Parmesan rind while the orzo cooks, contributing a bit more umami and creaminess to the dish (but it’s perfectly fine to omit it). Finished with a crack of pepper, a bit of flaky salt, freshly grated Parmesan cheese and even a decadent glug of grassy olive oil, this meal can strike a chord with anyone.
For a wine pairing, it is hard to not turn to Chianti Classico, which frequently punches above its weight in value and is a known favorite for pairing with red sauce pastas. With this orzotto, try the Castello Banfi Chianti Classico 2022 (90 points, $18), a great entry-level wine from a historic producer. Senior editor Bruce Sanderson, Wine Spectator’s taster for the wines of Tuscany, describes it as having a “succulent profile” of red fruit, building into a “long, resonant finish.”
Creamy, One-Pot Orzotto all’Arrabbiata
Pair with a succulent, bold Chianti Classico, such as the Castello Banfi Chianti Classico 2022 (90, $18) from Italy.
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
Approximate food costs: $10
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium white onion (or two small onions), diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
- 1 16-ounce can of peeled whole tomatoes
- 16 ounces orzo
- 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 3 tablespoons cold salted butter
- Optional: Parmesan rinds
- Flaky salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
- Parmesan cheese, for serving
1. Add the olive oil to a large, heavy-bottom pan or Dutch oven and bring to medium-high heat. Add the onion to the olive oil and occasionally stir, until the onion is translucent, around 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir until it turns golden, around 2 minutes.
2. Add the red pepper flakes and kosher salt to the pan and stir until fragrant. Open the tin of peeled whole tomatoes, gently grab each tomato and crush it in your palm over the pan, stirring between each tomato. Once finished, add the rest of the tomato sauce from the can to the pan and stir. (Add Parmesan rind into the pan if using). Let mixture simmer lightly for around five minutes.
3. Once the liquid is starting to bubble, add the orzo to the pan, stirring to coat it in the tomato sauce. Add 1 1/2 cups of stock to the pan and stir to combine. Every two minutes or so, stir the orzo, making sure none of it is sticking to the bottom. Once it looks like all of the liquid has been absorbed by the orzo, add 1/2 cup of stock. Repeat until all of the stock is used. (If using a Parmesan rind, remove and discard).
4. When the orzo is al dente and most of the liquid is absorbed, turn off the heat and add the butter, stirring and folding the orzotto over itself until it is fully coated. Divide among four plates and serve, topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, flaky salt and freshly cracked pepper. Serves 4.
