Meatballs and Marinara Orzo Pasta Recipe

A delicious family dinner using Orzo pasta and Eileen's Easy Marinara Sauce - you will make this time and time again.

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Have you heard of Orzo? Oh I know there are people out there reading this that are saying "of course I've heard of Orzo" and others that are looking at this thinking 'what the hell is this woman talking about?' well for those of you not in the know Orzo is a type of pasta, but and here's the yummy bit, it is the same size and looks like rice, even better when you mix it with a sauce it becomes a bit like a pasta risotto and the texture is fantastic - we love it and I hope you will too.

The jar below contains two types of Orzo, the whiter, longer version is from Italy and the other is a UK version, there was no difference in taste and when cooked you can barely tell the difference but it looked very pretty mixed together in the jar.

• Using ½lb of Beef and Pork at room temperature place all the ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl and using your hands mix everything together until well blended.

• Gently roll the meatballs into 2-bite sized pieces, and place on a baking tray.

• Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 180ºC / 160ºC at Fan setting / Gas Mark 3, until golden brown or slightly longer if you prefer the outside to be darker and crisper.

Normally when I make Marinara Sauce I make double the quantity and freeze half. When I wish to use it I take it out of the freezer the night before and leave in the refrigerator to defrost. Please see the recipe by clicking the link below:

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• Put the Marinara Sauce into a saucepan and warm to a gentle simmer.

• 10 minutes before the meatballs and Marinara Sauce are ready put your Orzo into a large pot of boiling, slightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil for 6-8 minutes.

• Drain the Orzo and add to the Marinara Sauce.

At this point you are ready to serve your meal, some people prefer to put the meatballs into the Marinara Sauce and Orzo but I prefer the meatballs to retain their slightly crisp outside and so I serve them on top sprinkled with Parmesan.

You could also serve this as a vegetarian dish with oven baked tomatoes and peppers as described in the Marinara Sauce recipe, which is photographed below and is equally delicious.

Whichever way you prefer to serve it I hope that you will enjoy it as much as my family do.