Baked orzo with mozzarella and oregano from Plenty More (page 288) by Yotam Ottolenghi

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Always check the publication for a full list of ingredients. An Eat Your Books index lists the main ingredients and does not include 'store-cupboard ingredients' (salt, pepper, oil, flour, etc.) - unless called for in significant quantity.

Notes about this recipe

  • Eat Your Books

    This recipe is on p.276 in the US edition.

  • Schooffiecooks on April 01, 2026

    No fan of the baked orzo and the celery.

  • Delys77 on March 13, 2024

    I've looked at this recipe a few times and have skipped over it as I wasn't sure about the amount of oil. I decided to give it a try as I had a only eggplant in the fridge and only a few tomatoes and so I didn't have enough of those two ingredients for his pasta a la norma. I was glad we tried this. It is different from many other pasta bakes and was a nice change. The tomatoes caramelize a bit and end up a bit closer to a sundried tomato than the sauced tomatoes of most casserole type dishes. There is a fair bit of a oil but the dish wasn't particularly heavy, and given the amount of veg I would say it was fairly healthy. There isn't all that much cheese but it does make for a lovely mouth feel. Seasoning is spot on but that is usual for Ottolenghi. My only quibble is that I made the whole dish in a le creuset braiser and had a fair amount of sticking. I'd likely increase the recipe by 50% next time so as to have some left overs and go with something truly not stick.

  • Hansyhobs on October 08, 2023

    I deviated a little from the recipe but this still turned out delicious. My edits were based on what made sense to me based on a lot of cooking experience. I cooked the aubergine in a lot of oil (it soaked most of it up) but didn't drain it on the kitchen roll. I blitzed the carrot, garlic, onion and celery in my food processor and cooked it down together as you would a sofrito - low and slow until all the water was gone (20 ish mins). I added the tomato paste and fried it for a few minutes. I added chicken stock, orzo, aubergine, mozzarella, parm, and lemon zest (I didn't bother with the oregano/thyme) back to the pan to mix, and put it in a baking dish with tomatoes on top. I season at every step, tasting as I go. I don't think the aubergine is necessary to the recipe but the lemon zest is an excellent addition to cut through the richness of the cheese (I had a big ball of mozzarella so was probably more than the recipe asked for).

  • StephEpices on October 19, 2019

    I was not a fan of the texture. Will not be making it again.

  • finebec on October 28, 2018

    Better with true Italian orzo than with Whole Food brand; have made it with and without parmasan to accomodate a parma hater and did not taste that different. CRITICALLY important, quality of the tomatoes. Side by side comparison of dish with farmers' market heirlooms and regular showing that market tomatoes made a big difference.

  • coryelizabeth on February 03, 2018

    I'm another person saying that this recipe is delicious. I split the 7 TB of olive oil into two batches (half for the eggplant and half for the carrots/celery). I used smoked mozzarella, since that's what I had on hand, and I added more cheese than the recipe called for, because I'm a fiend.

  • anya_sf on June 26, 2017

    Recipe calls for 1 large eggplant (300 g), but my leftover half eggplant weighed 300 g, so I used that. I used chicken stock instead of vegetable. I doubled the mozzarella because I love cheese. I sauteed the eggplant in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil; of course it absorbed it all, but I didn't add more at that step, just added more for the carrots and celery. I thought I would be clever and saute in a Dutch oven, then add everything back to the same Dutch oven at the end for baking. The only problem was that it stuck quite a bit to the sides. I probably should have taken it out 10 minutes sooner. But it was still really good.

  • lou_weez on June 17, 2017

    Yum!! A delicious meat-free meal.

  • doughet on June 01, 2017

    We make this exactly as written with whatever type of eggplants we happen to be growing at the time and it's always very good. My husband doesn't even notice that it's a meat-free dinner! When good tomatoes aren't available, I use cherry or grape tomatoes, and they work just as well as sliced. Odd note: it's also dog-friendly -- our friends' Yorkie who visits literally cannot get enough of this -- it's her favorite!

  • dinnermints on January 27, 2017

    Gets more addictive with each bite. Next time I'd make this in the fall when tomatoes are at their peak. Similar to other reviewers, I sprayed the eggplant cubes with an olive oil mister and roasted them in the oven (425) for 15-20 minutes, and then used 2 T oil for the carrots, 1-2 T oil for the onion. The carrots weren't quite cooked enough; next time I'd use a larger pan and maybe saute them longer - would prefer them a little caramelized. I also used whole wheat orzo and increased the broth by a couple tablespoons. Next time I'd try covering it at first like others did. I didn't think I'd ever say this about an Ottolenghi dish, but I'd actually add a little more salt. I couldn't broil it in the dish I chose, but would also try that next time.

  • Melanie on July 18, 2016

    I loved this dish, comfort food that manages to avoid being overly rich. Reheats well in oven covered in foil - probably better than the first night! Will repeat and make in bulk, I imagine this will freeze well.

  • lilham on November 15, 2015

    Lovely winter dinner. I used cheddar instead of mozzarella, so the end result is slightly oiler. But this didn't detract from the tastiness of this baked pasta. (I also used dried thyme instead of fresh). Even my 4yo who wouldn't normally eat aubergines and celery ate this without complaints.

  • Zosia on March 19, 2015

    I really enjoyed this cheesey pasta dish with its chunks of vegetables and tomatoes that helped cut the richness. I used only half the oil, about 2 tbsp to coat the eggplant which roasted in the pre-heating oven while I sauteed the other vegetables stove top in 1 tbsp. The tomato slices protected most of the pasta from drying out during baking and I quite liked the crispy bits of the parts that were exposed.

  • clkandel on November 01, 2014

    Used whole wheat orzo, so added a little extra broth. Covered for first 20 minutes.

  • leahorowitz on September 14, 2014

    Perfect comfort food. Used different pasta (casarecce) and it worked fine - same amount of stock and time in the oven. Covered the pasta with aluminum foil for the first 30 mins.

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Reviews about this recipe

  • Salt Sugar and I

    This will definitely make an appearance again on our dinner table, it was freakin' delicious!

    Full review
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