Greek-style orzo with baked feta recipe

The quick cooking time and rice-like size and shape of orzo mean it’s perfectly suited to traybakes. The light and fresh flavours in this pasta bake, with lots of healthy vegetables, is complemented by salty baked feta and the crunch of sunflower seeds. Serve with a simple green salad. Calories: 416. 

Timings

Prep time: 5 minutes 

Cooking time: 30 minutes 

Serves

Four

Ingredients

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 150g baby tomatoes, halved
• Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• Low-calorie cooking spray
• 300g dried orzo pasta
• Small handful of mint leaves, finely chopped
• 50g baby spinach
• 800ml vegetable stock
• 90g feta cheese, cut into small chunks
• 2 tbsp sunflower seeds

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/Gas 7.
2. Place the onion, garlic, pepper and tomatoes into a deep baking tray or a casserole dish and stir in the lemon zest and juice and oregano. Spray with cooking spray and pop into the oven for 15 minutes.
3. Remove from the oven and stir through the orzo, add the mint and spinach, season, then pour in the stock. Stir again and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven, stir, cover the top evenly with the feta, then sprinkle over the sunflower seeds.
5. Bake for 10 minutes. The orzo should be cooked through with no bite, the feta melted and starting to brown and the sunflower seeds golden brown.

Top tip 

This recipe also works well with roasted peppers from a jar, rather than fresh peppers. Simply slice up the same amount and stir in after the orzo has cooked, just before topping with the feta and sunflower seeds.