Lemony Orzo with Vegetables

Here's yet another Food Network magazine recipe for a quick, light weeknight dinner.  As you can tell, I've found lots of vegetarian inspiration from that magazine lately!

This recipe originally called for the addition of a can of tuna at the end, which Scott added to his portions only (and enjoyed), but it is perfectly tasty without it.

Ingredients:

2 T. extra-virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

4 scallions, thinly sliced

1 14-oz. can petite-diced tomatoes

1/4 t. dried oregano (or 1 t. fresh)

1.5 c. orzo (This is a rice-shaped pasta.)

salt and freshly-ground pepper

1 14-oz. can cannellini beans (or other white beans...I used Great Northern.)

1 small bell pepper, chopped (The recipe calls for sliced, which you'll see in the photo, but you end up cutting these to eat them anyway.)

juice of 1 lemon

2 T. chopped fresh parsley

Method: 

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the garlic and half of the scallions.  Cook, stirring, 1 minute.  Add the tomatoes and oregano.  Cook, stirring, 3 minutes.  Stir in 2.5 c. water, the orzo, 1/2 t. salt, and pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and stir in the beans.  Cover and simmer until  most of the liquid is absorbed and the orzo is tender, about 10 minutes.

Add the bell pepper and continue cooking, covered, until tender, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the lemon juice and parsley.  Season with salt and pepper.  Top with the remaining scallions.

Serves 4.