Nigella Lawson Orzo with Meatballs

Nigella Lawson’s meatballs with orzo is a cosy one-pot dish of tender beef meatballs and orzo pasta, all simmered together in a herby tomato and vermouth sauce. It serves 4 to 6, from her book At My Table.

She calls orzo a non-negotiable staple in her kitchen, a stand-in for rice or potatoes, and the base for what Italians call pasta risottata, a kind of pasta risotto. This, she says, is a pre-eminent example of the wonderful, cosy one-pot dishes it makes.

The beauty is that everything cooks in one pan. The meatballs simmer in the sauce, then the orzo goes in to cook right in it, soaking up all the flavour and thickening the dish to a comforting, risotto-like finish, with no separate pasta pot to wash.

Nigella Lawson Orzo with Meatballs

Recipe by Pinch Perfect

5.0 from 1 vote

Course: Dinner, Lunch, MainCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4-6

servings

Prep time

25

minutes

Cooking time

50

minutes

Calories

560

kcal

Total time

1

hour 

15

minutes

Nigella’s cosy one-pot from At My Table: tender Parmesan-and-parsley beef meatballs and orzo simmered together in a herby tomato and vermouth sauce. Serves four to six.

Ingredients

• For the meatballs:

• 500g minced beef

• 1 large egg (lightly beaten)

• 3 x 15ml tablespoons finely chopped fresh flatleaf parsley (plus more to serve)

• 2 x 15ml tablespoons dried breadcrumbs

• 4 x 15ml tablespoons finely grated Parmesan (plus more to serve)

• 1½ teaspoons Maldon sea salt flakes

• 2 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)

• For the sauce:

• 2 x 15ml tablespoons regular olive oil

• 1 onion (approx. 150g, peeled and finely chopped)

• 2 x 15ml tablespoons finely chopped fresh flatleaf parsley

• 2 teaspoons dried oregano

• 4 x 15ml tablespoons red vermouth

• 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes

• 1½ teaspoons Maldon sea salt flakes

• 275g orzo pasta

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Directions

• Make the meatballs:Line a baking sheet with cling film. Put all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix gently with your hands. Don’t overmix, or the meatballs will be dense and heavy.
• Roll:Pinch out pieces and roll into balls between a cherry tomato and a walnut in size, onto the tray. You should get about 30.
• Ready the water:Fill a measuring jug with 1 litre of cold water and keep it near the hob.
• Start the sauce:Heat the oil in a heavy lidded casserole large enough for the meatballs and pasta. Cook the onion over medium heat, stirring now and then, for about 10 minutes, until completely soft. Stir in the parsley and oregano for a minute, then add the vermouth and let it bubble for a minute. Tip in the tomatoes, swill the cans out with water from the jug and add that plus the rest of the water and the salt. Boil, then cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
• Cook the meatballs:Uncover and gently drop in the meatballs (Nigella works in concentric circles from the outside in, more habit than necessity). Return to the boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Add the orzo:Uncover, tip in the orzo, stir gently and bring back to a bubble. Cook at a robust simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the pasta is cooked, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the bottom.
• Serve:In shallow bowls, sprinkled with parsley, with Parmesan on the table.

Notes

• (don’t overmix): Mix the meatball ingredients gently and briefly. Overmixing makes them dense-textured and heavy.
• (no vermouth): Red vermouth adds aromatic depth and keeps for weeks once opened. You can use red wine instead, or, to avoid alcohol, 1 tablespoon of tomato purée plus an extra 3 tablespoons of water.
• (make ahead / store): Make the meatballs and sauce up to 3 days ahead; refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking, then reheat gently to just boiling, add the orzo and cook as directed with a splash more water. Refrigerate leftovers up to 3 days and reheat until piping hot with extra water. Don’t reheat leftovers if the sauce was made ahead.
• (freeze): The meatballs and sauce freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat as above.

FAQs

Why cook the orzo in the sauce rather than separately?

This is what makes it a true one-pot dish and gives it its cosy, risotto-like quality. Cooking the orzo directly in the simmering tomato sauce, rather than boiling it separately, means the little pasta grains drink up all the savoury, herby flavour as they cook, and release their starch to thicken the sauce around them.

The result is closer to Nigella’s beloved pasta risottata, a pasta risotto, than a plate of pasta with sauce on top. The trade-off is you need to stir occasionally in the last 10 to 15 minutes so the orzo doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan. Add a splash more water if it looks too thick before the pasta is done.

Why shouldn’t I overmix the meatballs?

Nigella is firm about mixing the meatball ingredients gently and only until just combined. Overworking the mixture compresses the meat and develops it too much, which makes the cooked meatballs dense, tight and heavy rather than light and tender.

Use your hands, mix with a light touch, and stop as soon as everything’s evenly combined. The egg, breadcrumbs and Parmesan bind and lighten them. Rolling them gently, not packing them too tightly, helps too. Aim for a size between a cherry tomato and a walnut, which gives you about 30 that cook through evenly in the sauce.

What does the vermouth do, and what can I use instead?

Red vermouth adds a lovely aromatic, herbal depth to the tomato sauce, rounding it out beyond just tomatoes. It’s a brilliant store-cupboard ingredient, since unlike wine it keeps for several weeks once opened, so you always have some for exactly this kind of dish.

If you don’t have it, Nigella says red wine works just as well. To make it alcohol-free, use 1 tablespoon of tomato purée plus an extra 3 tablespoons of water, which keeps some of that savoury depth. Either way, let it bubble for a minute after adding so the harshness cooks off before the tomatoes go in.

Do I have to use beef, and can I make it with chicken or pork?

Beef gives rich, classic meatballs, but the recipe is forgiving. A mix of beef and pork makes them a little softer and more savoury, and turkey or chicken mince gives a lighter version, though you may want extra seasoning as they’re milder. Keep the egg, breadcrumbs and Parmesan, which bind and flavour them whatever the meat.

For a vegetarian version, good plant-based mince works in the same way. The sauce and orzo method stay exactly the same. It’s a cosy, adaptable supper in the same comforting one-pot spirit as Nigella’s chicken and pea traybake.

What do I serve with it?

It’s a complete meal in a bowl, so it needs very little. Nigella serves it simply in shallow bowls with extra parsley and Parmesan on the table to add to taste. A crisp green salad on the side freshens it up, and some good bread is perfect for mopping the last of the sauce.

A piece of Nigella’s cheese garlic bread alongside makes it a proper feast. Keep anything extra simple, since the dish is rich and satisfying on its own. There are more cosy suppers on the Nigella Lawson recipes page.

Can I make it ahead, store or freeze it?

Partly, with one important catch. You can make the meatballs and sauce up to 3 days ahead and keep them refrigerated, then reheat gently, add the orzo and finish cooking just before serving, since the pasta is best cooked fresh so it doesn’t turn soft and bloated.

The meatballs and sauce also freeze well for up to 3 months, defrosted overnight and reheated the same way before adding the orzo. One caution from Nigella: don’t reheat leftovers if the sauce was already made ahead, to be safe, so cook a made-ahead batch only once. Add a splash of water when reheating, as the orzo keeps absorbing liquid.