roasted vegetable orzo
A simple, vegetarian/vegan recipe perfect to use up any leftover vegetables in your fridge! We’re eating gooood and reducing food waste and I, for one, am not mad about it! Silky silky smooooooth, this ‘roasted’ vegetable orzo is gently easing me into spring vibes with fresh, summery flavours and comforting oozy richness. It’s a win win! Now I know the vegetables aren’t actually roasted but we’re cooking them in a way that gets that same tender, caramelised result without having to turn the oven on. This is also vegan, though an addition of freshly grated pecorino would be no bad thing here. To each, their own.
Ingredients
- 250-300g Mediterranean veg (aubergine, courgette, red pepper, tomatoes etc., not root vegetables like carrots or parsnips), all finely diced into 1cm cubes
- Olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 80g orzo
- Juice of 1/2-1 lemon
- 1 tsp vegetable bouillon powder (or 1/2 stock cube/pot)
- Handful of fresh basil, chopped
- Salt
- Black pepper
To serve:
- More fresh basil, finely chopped
- Lemon zest
- Pine nuts
- Add a good glug (around 2 tbsp) of olive oil to a small saucepan over a medium-high heat.
- Add all the chopped vegetables and cook for around 10-15 minutes until the veg is soft and is slightly caramelised.
- Add in the garlic and cook for 2-3 more minutes then add in the tomato puree and balsamic vinegar and cook for another 2.
- Add in the orzo, lemon juice and bouillon powder and then cover with water.
- Let that cook for around 10-15 minutes until the orzo is tender and al dente. Keep stirring and topping up the water as needed. You want the result to be silky and risotto-like.
- Stir in the basil then taste and season.
- Serve up and top with more basil, lemon zest and pine nuts.
How it should look!
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I have an affinity for crunchy slaws, as I think they provide more interest, more texture and are more filling than many other salads. However, I’m not partial to excessive quantities of mayonnaise. Here I opt for coconut milk instead, which delivers the same creaminess in a less monotonous way. The fresh coriander and bite of roasted peanuts keep this slaw lively and interesting and are perfect with the lightly charred curried chicken skewers. This would also be great sandwiched between a burger bun, or on a soft flatbread.
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In a way, this linguine changed my life. It was the first recipe in the series to take off on social media, bringing new people and new opportunities into my life. It’s an exceptionally simple recipe that uses the same water to cook both the pasta and the vegetables, which you then use to create a velvety, carbonara-esque sauce with the cheese and egg. I’ve retested this and tweaked it since its original conception and, though I can’t promise it will change your life, I can promise it will be delicious.
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Some big praise!
Take a look at what some of my happy customers have to say about "One Pot, One Portion"!
"One Pot One Portion is, to borrow from The Parent Trap “a brilliant beyond brilliant idea”…I know many feel that it’s too much bother to cook ‘just’ for themselves — a sad admission, I feel — and to those people, and many others besides, I say: get this book and prove yourself liberatingly wrong!…Thank goodness for books! And thank goodness for Eleanor Wilkinson, a young talent to lift the spirits…There are so many people who could benefit from this book…this book is a boon and a blessing"
"A genius approach to bringing joy to every meal, Eleanor gets that good food is the best form of self-love."
I buy a lot of cook books and this is genuinely one of the best l've ever bought. I've tried 6 or 7 recipes so far and they're all winners. I'm well used to scaling recipes down to one portion, but not having to calculate measurements as l go along feels like a little luxury. One of the best things about the book is that all the recipes are actually cooked in one pot - in a lot of other so-called books you still have to make your side dish in a separate pot. With these recipes, even if they include rice or pasta, it's all cooked together. No mountains of washing up! Highly recommended.
I have been following Eleanor on IG for a while and have made several of her dishes before the cookbook came out. I was thrilled to see so many new things to try and have already made about 6 of them. Her recipes are approachable, the dishes are delicious, and they make me feel like I can cook! Highly recommend.
If you love eating good home cooked food but can't be bothered to cook just for yourself, then this is the book for you. Using ingredients that are easy to find, then mixing, cooking and eating from the same pan or dish means a minimum of washing up. Every recipe I have tried so far has been delicious and have all turned out well which isn't always the case with many cookery books. Definitely recommend!
Following Eleanor on Instagram and seeing her recipes come to life is one thing but then having them in my own kitchen is quite another. Not only are the recipes easy to follow and delicious she also help you not to waste food. This book is like having all your favourite foods in one place with the added bonus of an old friend showing you the ropes. Congratulations Eleanor when can I pre-order the next one?
Bought this for my sister who cooks for one. She absolutely loved it finding it inspiring! So many great recipes to motivate and keep you cooking when it's just you eating!
Follow Eleanor on socials and knew I NEEDED this book immediately! SO glad I paid extra and had it shipped from the UK (to US). Eleanor's voice is loud and clear in every recipe. The pictures are beautiful, the instructions are perfectly clear, and I want to make EVERYTHING. I cannot recommend this book enough!
This is perfect, as far as influencer chefs go, I find this book refreshing in what has become a cohort of lauded influencers who really aren't doing much more than the bog standard meals most people make anyway, or making googled recipes and adding their own "flair". This book is different as it's your normal fare you'd likely make yourself, given a little bit of a twist to speed up the process / use less utensils / ingredients / food waste, in really creative and tasty ways, all perfectly portioned for one.
Great present! Bought this for my sister who cooks for one. She absolutely loved it finding it inspiring! So many great recipes to motivate and keep you cooking when it's just you eating!
Great present! Bought this for my sister who cooks for one. She absolutely loved it finding it inspiring! So many great recipes to motivate and keep you cooking when it's just you
Follow Eleanor on socials and knew I NEEDED this book immediately! SO glad I paid extra and had it shipped from the UK (to US). Eleanor's voice is loud and clear in every recipe. The pictures are beautiful, the instructions are perfectly clear, and I want to make EVERYTHING. I cannot recommend this book enough!
This recipe book is stunning and fulfils its role brilliantly in catering for individuals who want to eat delicious meals, but don't want to prepare family sized portions or devote their entire evening to cooking. Who'd believe you could make an entire roast for one person and only use one pan in the process! She is a genius and I couldn't recommend this book any more highly.
One of the best things about the book is that all the recipes are actually cooked in one pot - in a lot of other so-called books you still have to make your side dish in a separate pot. With these recipes, even if they include rice or pasta, it's all cooked together. No mountains of washing up!
This is the book I've been waiting for! I (very happily!) live alone, love to cook and read cookery books, but every recipe is for two people or more. This gorgeous book contains recipes perfectly proportioned for one person (and I'm always a very hungry one person!) which ensures more variety, less food waste, and pure, gluttonous joy.
It's so nice to finally have a recipe book that I can go to if I want a quick easy meal with minimal cleaning up required! Everything l've tried so far is delicious. And I salivate at the thought of everything in there!
Totally reignited my cooking mojo which had been MIA for a while. I'm going to buy my daughter a copy to take back to Uni too as everything is simple and delicious - perfect for a student!
Best cookbook for somebody single!
The fact I know I won't have loads to wash up really feels motivating and l've earmarked so many of the recipes already.
This book is like having all your favourite foods in one place with the added bonus of an old friend showing you the ropes. Congratulations Eleanor when can I pre-order the next one?