Shrimp Orzo Skillet

This recipe falls into two categories: 1) one of the top most delicious recipes I have made, and 2) one of the easiest recipes I have made! Holy moly this was incredible! And there was very little I even had to do!

I did things a little differently from what the recipes tells you to do, so I'll share what I did. I thought I had some orzo pasta, but when it was time for dinner realized that I just had some brown rice. Because rice takes longer to cook than orzo pasta, I decided not to cook the shrimp first and then cook the rice in the same skillet. I didn't want the shrimp to sit out so long and get cold. So what I did was cook the rice in a separate saucepan, and then cooked the shrimp (which took about 5 minutes) in a sauté pan at the very end right as the rice was finishing cooking. That way everything was ready at the same time.

Normally when I fix rice for the two of us, I measure 1/2 cup rice and 1 cup water, then proceed from there. Tonight, I still measured out the 1/2 cup of rice, but followed the directions with the chicken broth and clam juice measurements (cut in half, because it was just the two of us and the recipe serves 4). So instead of cooking the rice in water, I cooked it in 1 cup chicken broth and 1/2 cup clam juice (plus the pressed garlic). Oh my goodness!!!! The rice was so incredible! The chicken broth and clam juice added so much flavor, it was amazing.  After the rice was finished cooking, I stirred in the peas, butter and lemon juice (while at the same time sautéing the shrimp in the olive oil).

When I said that it was one of the easiest recipes I have done, I was not joking! It took just a minute to get the rice started, and then while that cooked (which took about 30 minutes) I was able to leave it and get a lot of stuff done around the house. The shrimp only took about 5 minutes at the end as the rice was finishing up, and all you had to do for that was toss it in the salt, pepper and sugar and throw them in the sauté pan! So simple!

I still can't get over how delicious this dinner was. When I saw it, I thought to myself that it looked good, but I had no idea it would be bursting with so much flavor! Tossing the shrimp in a tiny bit of sugar allowed caramelization to take place in the little time that the shrimp took to cook, which added a whole other dynamic to the dish. That, combined with the rice (which I already mentioned cooking it with the chicken broth, clam juice and garlic made it amazing), peas and lemon juice just really blew me away! I want some more! Haha :-)

You are truly missing out if you don't give this recipe a try!

Shrimp Orzo Skillet
Pampered Chef 29 Minutes to Dinner
Published by The Pampered Chef, Ltd. in 2007.

Total time: 29 minutes  Yield: 4 servings

Shrimp
8 oz large uncooked shrimp (21-25 per pound)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1/8 tsp sugar

Orzo
8 oz orzo pasta
1 garlic clove, pressed
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup clam juice
1 lemon
1tbsp thinly sliced fresh mint
1 cup frozen peas
1 tbsp butter

1. For shrimp, peel and devein shrimp. Add oil to (10-in.) Skillet; heat over medium-high heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. As Skillet heats, combine salt, black pepper and sugar in Small Batter Bowl; add shrimp and toss to coat.
2. Arrange shrimp in a single layer over bottom of Skillet and cook about 1 minute or until one side is browned and edges are pink. Remove Skillet from heat and turn shrimp over with Small Slotted Turner; let stand an additional 30 seconds or until centers are opaque and shrimp is cooked through. Remove shrimp from Skillet; set aside.
3. For orzo, in same Skillet, combine orzo, pressed garlic, broth and clam juice. Bring to a boil; cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 10-12 minutes or until orzo is cooked through.
4. As orzo cooks, zest lemon with Microplane Adjustable Grater to measure 1 tbsp zest; juice lemon to measure 1 tbsp juice. Thinly slice mint using Santoku Knife.
5. Remove Skillet from heat and stir in peas, butter and lemon juice. Arrange shrimp over orzo; cover and let stand 3-5 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with lemon zest and mint before serving.