Orzo in Baked Tomato and Olive Sauce with Butter Beans

This one isn’t going to win you MasterChef but it’s comforting, warming and packed with fibre and protein. A real all-in-one hero! The olives and feta bring a little flair and baking the sauce first gives it a lovely deep richness. It is perfect for meal prepping or having leftovers for lunch the next day. You could add any other veg you like at the start – courgettes, peppers or peas would all work.

This has about 16 g of protein per serving so I like to have it with a small portion of another source of protein to get up closer to the 25g mark. A boiled egg or two, some leftover roast meat, a yoghurt afterwards, a glass of cow’s milk on the side, a bean-based side salad, smoked salmon or smoked mackerel, all work well!

Ingredients

500g Fresh Tomatoes  

500ml Passata

½ cup/½ jar of Olives drained and rinsed if very salty

2 tins of Butter Beans

150g Dry Orzo, or any small pasta shapes

½ teaspoon Sugar

1 big handful of fresh Dill or Parsley, chopped

Lots of fresh Black pepper

50g Feta

Makes - 4 servings

Method

1.      Preheat the oven to 190 degrees. Chop the tomatoes in half and place in a large casserole or deep roasting dish, pour over the passata and the olives.

2.      Roast for 20 minutes.

3.      Drain the butter beans and rinse well.

4.      After 20 minutes, add the butter beans to the dish, along with half the dill, lots of black pepper, and the sugar. Use a wooden spoon to mix well and break up any softened tomatoes.

5.      Put the dish back into the oven for another 20 minutes.

6.      Cook your orzo as per packet and drain.

7.      Once the second 20 minutes is up, mix in the orzo. Once fully combined sprinkle over the feta.

8.      Pop back in the oven for 5 minutes.

9.      Sprinkle over the rest of the dill, black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.