I often find myself experimenting or improvising in the kitchen. Today, my mission was to only use what was already in the kitchen pantry, fridge/freezer or growing in my wee herb garden. This recipe features orzo, which is like a rice-shaped pasta. I normally cook it as-is, or incorporate it into soups. In this instance, I cooked it on its own, gave it a healthy splash of extra virgin olive oil, and added fresh spinach as the last step so it wilts in the heat of the orzo. To adorn the orzo, crisp spiced herb meatballs offers full flavour and an added kick. Aromatic fresh sage, chives, oregano, and thyme from my herb garden enhance the flavour of the spiced pork meatballs.

Enjoy!

Fresh sage, chives, oregano and thyme from my wee herb garden.

Perfectly rounded meatballs ready for the hot oven!

Spinach orzo ready to be adorned with spiced herb meatballs…

Serves 4

Active prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 568g mince pork
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• Ground black pepper
• Flake sea salt
• Few leaves of fresh oregano, chopped
• Few leaves of fresh thyme, chopped
• Few leaves of fresh chives, chopped
• Few leaves of fresh sage, chopped
• 4 tbsp polenta

Dry orzo (75g per person)

Extra virgin olive oil

150g fresh spinach

4 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese

Approach

1. Preheat oven to 175ºC
2. In a bowl, combine the mince pork, spices, fresh herbs and polenta. Mix thoroughly.
3. Line a baking sheet with baking paper (easy clean up!), and scoop meatball mixture into 1” bite-size balls. Place on lined baking sheet.
4. Bake the meatballs for 30 minutes, until they are crisp golden brown.
5. Once the meatballs are in the oven, boil water for the orzo. Orzo should only take about 8 minutes to cook.
6. Once orzo is tender, drain, and then splash with extra virgin olive oil. Add the fresh spinach and fold through mixture. The spinach will cook in the heat of the orzo.
7. Spoon orzo into dishes, top with cooked meatballs, and sprinkle parmesan cheese.