Today I have for you another one of my one pot recipes which I love so much, a spicy pork ragu with orzo. I love these dishes, they’re so easy and quick to make, and perfect use of that ground pork that I always seem to have in the freezer. This is why I love these quick and easy meals, they’re perfect to use those staple ingredients you have around.
What Is Ragu?
Ragu is a meat based sauce that is commonly served with pasta in Italian cuisine. It cooks down low and slow and develops tons of flavor as it cooks. Ragu is a great blank canvas for developing some really interesting, complex flavor.
What Is Orzo?
Orzo is a small cut pasta that tastes heavenly in rich and hearty dishes just like the one I’m writing out for you all today. It packs some good protein and pairs well with a good variety of veggies, I’ll be sure to give you some good recommendations below.
Olive oil – We want a nice neutral tasting oil to cook down our other ingredients listed below. Pork – We’re using ground pork today for all that flavor and a nice moist addition. Mirepoix – The flavor base of nearly any sauce, soup, or stew. Carrots, onion, and celery diced up fine. Seasoning – Salt and pepper. Herbs – Dried oregano and basil for flavor concentrate that won’t burn. Broth – Beef broth, low sodium so we can control the sodium content of our dish. Wine – We’re using a nice lush, full bodied red wine today. Look for something on the drier side. Red pepper flakes – This will add some great heat to our dish, feel free to use as much or as little of this ingredient as you like. Tomatoes – 1 can of tomato juice. Pasta – I’m using orzo today, it’s small enough to cook down in our ragu and absorb all of that amazing sauce. Parmesan cheese – Totally optional as garnish but let’s be honest, is Parmesan ever truly optional on a pasta dish? Hot sauce – Use whatever brand you prefer, my favorite is sriracha. Parsley – Fresh and chopped up fine.
Other Ingredients To Add To This Pork Ragu
Another great thing about this recipe, besides it being, quick, one pot and delicious, is the fact that it’s quite versatile. Although I give you a basic recipe here, feel free to add what you’d like to bulk it up a bit!
Veggies
Spinach Broccoli Asparagus Peas Mushrooms
Meat
You can use ground beef, chicken, or turkey in place of the pork. If you’re using poultry, add an extra 2 tbsp of olive oil to cook the meat.
Starches
You don’t just have just use orzo, you can use some other starches if you’d like! I’m just obsessed with orzo lately, because you know what, it only takes about 6 minutes to cook!
Any small shaped pasta Couscous Long grain rice, like Basmati
Too Spicy For Your Liking?
Feel free to adjust the amount of hot sauce and red pepper flakes to suit your preference.
Prefer To Cook Without Wine?
If you don’t like to cook with wine then feel free to substitute this ingredient for an equals amount of additional chicken or beef broth.
Storage
Fridge
You can store this spicy pork ragu in an air tight shallow container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days. Just be sure to allow it to fully cool before placing it in the fridge.
Freezer
You can freeze this dish as well! Just hold off on adding the orzo till you’re ready to eat it. Freeze the Ragu in a shallow airtight container once fully cooled. Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge before heating back up on the stove top and incorporating your orzo.
More Incredible Pasta Recipes
Mediterranean Orzo Salad One Pot Cheesy Taco Orzo Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup One Pot Chicken and Orzo Creamy Parmesan Orzo with Chicken and Asparagus One Pot Orzo Bolognese
