While I despise the name, I am a big fan of the ‘Marry Me’ flavor combination. Super savoury sundried tomatoes, sharp parmesan cheese, fresh basil and spinach plus a creamy sauce? Not much is better.

Now, I originally wanted to make this with chicken but I’m not going to lie, the chicken I planned to use was looking – and smelling – a little worse for wear. So, I skipped it and honestly, I’m kind of glad I did? While serving this orzo with grilled chicken gives it another hit of protein (I love pairing it with miso grilled chicken or honey harissa chicken), it’s filling enough on its own and becomes more of a celebration of lovely tomatoes. Adding crispy chorizo brings a gorgeous smoky, deep base of savoury flavor AND means you’ve got a lovely little crispy element to add back in at the end. A win-win!

The best part of cooking in one pot like this is that you’re layering every flavor, so everything has the chance to meld together and intensify over time. It’s also SO easy and you’ll only need to wash up one pot, one knife and one chopping board. That’s a serious win for me!

Love the ‘Marry Me’ flavors too? Try these super easy one pot ‘Marry Me’ white beans, ‘Marry Me’ chicken fettuccine, one pot ‘Marry Me’ chicken gnocchi or the original , 20 minute ‘Marry Me’ chicken itself.

Ingredients

• Orzo. Also known as risoni, this small, rice-shaped pasta is an underrated hero and something I always have in my cupboard. It cooks quickly and is perfect for one pot recipes like this one.
• Stock. I’m using chicken stock (broth), but you could use vegetable stock or just water. Be mindful of the saltiness of your stock – some can be a LOT saltier than others so I’d recommend tasting yours first, and then adjusting the added salt as needed. If you use water, you’ll need to add more salt than stated in the recipe (start with 1 teaspoon rather than 1/2 a teaspoon and go from there).
• Chorizo. This lovely cured sausage is a flavor powerhouse and is another ingredient I always try to have on hand. A little goes a long way, and here we’re using it to help build the flavor base at the start of the recipe, and it adds a lovely crispy element to the finished orzo.
• Coconut cream. Swap this for regular heavy (double) cream or sour cream if you prefer, or another plant-based cream. I like using coconut cream here because it isn’t quite as rich as regular cream (and it doesn’t make the orzo taste like coconut).
• Cherry tomatoes. You could leave out the fresh tomatoes if you like, but I love the freshness and juiciness they bring. Go for on the vine tomatoes for the best flavor.

How to make it

Start by cooking your chorizo until super crispy, then remove from the pan (but keep the oil in the pan!) Add the tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes and cook until the tomatoes start to soften.

Once the tomatoes are looking nice and jammy, add the orzo, stock and coconut cream. Stir, bring to a simmer and then cook for about 12 or so minutes, stirring occasionally, until your orzo is al dente (cooked, with a little bite to it).

Your sauce will still be very liquidy at this point, but trust the process! It’s going to thicken up.

Add all your spinach and parmesan, then stir it through the orzo. As you do this, you’ll notice the sauce will be thickening nicely.

Scatter over the basil and the crispy chorizo, then serve.