Is there a rule that says Bolognese has to be made with spaghetti? Why not orzo (risoni)? Especially given that you can make it all in ONE POT in 20 minutes! Introducing orzo / risoni bolognaise!
This was an accidental discovery. Sometimes it amazes me that I go to the grocery store almost every day and yet when I start making dinner, I’m missing a crucial ingredient. Like spaghetti for spaghetti bolognaise. Seriously. Who doesn’t have dried spaghetti in the pantry at all times?
I know, I’m weird. I think it’s the Japanese blood in my veins. I always have rice. But I don’t always have pasta.
I was about to get started with dinner when I realised I didn’t have spaghetti but I did have orzo. (It’s similar to rice in shape. Maybe that’s why I had it! 😉 ) And then the laziness kicked in, and I wondered – could I cook it IN the bolognaise sauce if I got the liquid ratio right?
Turns out you can. With absolutely zero comprise on flavour or texture. The orzo is perfectly al dente, and the bologanise is gloriously saucy.
You know what else I love about this? It’s great couch food. Have you ever tried eating spaghetti on the couch? Don’t do it! Well, if you do, wear a bib, have a pile of napkins beside you and I really hope your couch is NOT a white fabric couch.
But this Orzo Bolognaise is perfect for eating on the couch. A bowl, a spoon and a glass of wine while you watch whatever show helps you wind down after a long day. You can keep your eyes glued to the screen so you don’t miss a single critical moment of Game of Thrones and manage to scoff down dinner at the same time. (Talent. That’s what it’s called. Like driving and eating.)
And if that wasn’t enough, this is a fantastic midweek meal because it takes just 20 minutes from start to finish. 20 minutes! It’s just ridiculously fast and easy (and delicious!).
One key difference in this bolognaise sauce is that I make it using tomato passata instead of tinned tomatoes. I believe Americans also know it as tomato sauce (but not tomato sauce as Australians know it!).
Passata is simply pureed tomatoes and nowadays it’s sold in all grocery stores and costs around the same as tinned tomatoes. I love using passata because the sauce is smoother and thicker, unlike with crushed tinned tomatoes which you need to cook for a while for the tomatoes to break down.
This is the passata I use which you can find in the pasta section of Coles and Woolworths (supermarket chain in Australia). It comes in a large 25oz / 700g glass bottle. I keep the bottles and use them for all sorts of things, like storing sugar, salt, homemade stock. I even use them as vases and water jugs when I’m entertaining.
OK! Signing off. I have a HUGE bowl of Orzo Bolognaise to scoff down!
– Nagi x
And more One Pot Ground Beef / Mince recipes
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Cheeseburger Casserole (Homemade Hamburger Helper)
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Chili Mac – mash up of Mac and Cheese with Chilli Con Carne, so good!
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Asian Beef and Ramen Noodles – one skillet, 15 minutes
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Taco Soup – don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, it’s amazing!
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Browse all One Pot recipes and Ground Beef / Mince recipes
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One Pot Orzo / Risoni Bolognaise
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic , minced
- 1 small onion , peeled and diced (brown, white or yellow)
- 1 lb / 500g ground beef (mince)
- 24 oz / 700g tomato passata (Note 3)
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp dried Italian Herbs , or any combination of dried parsley, oregano, basil
- 2 beef bouillon cubes (Note 1)
- 1/2 to 1 tsp salt (to taste)
- Black pepper
- 3 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups dried orzo / risoni
To serve (optional)
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Finely chopped parsley
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet/fry pan (or pot) over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 3 minutes or until translucent.
- Add the mince and turn the heat up to high. Cook the mince, breaking it up as you go.
- When the mince is browned, add the remaining ingredients except the orzo. When the liquid comes to a simmer (it might bubble and spit slightly) add the orzo/risoni.
- Give it a quick stir then turn the heat down to medium low.
- Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently towards the end to ensure the orzo/risoni doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. If your liquid is evaporating too quickly, just add a slosh of hot water (tap or boiling).
- Remove the risoni from the heat. The risoni should be a teeny bit hard still and it should be very saucy when you take it off the stove. (Note 2)
- Check for seasoning (salt), then give it a good stir.
- Serve immediately, while it's piping hot and nice and saucy, garnished with freshly grated parmesan and parsley, if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Is there a category in the Guinness Book of Records for “Fastest Meal ever eaten by a family of 4 consisting of 2 adults, a fussy preschooler and a greedy guts toddler”? Because the record is so OURS!!!
20 minutes to cook, 10 minutes to eat, and ALL of us had seconds. Yes. ALL of us. The Big One actually wanted 3rds, and the Small One was very very very vocal when J Daddy failed to feed him fast enough.
I cooked a red curry last night that seriously lacked depth of flavour. First bite of our dinner tonight more than made up for the “flatness” of last night’s diner – this Risoni Bolognese is rich, full of flavour, and just so gloriously nommy! I omitted the onion (due to my heartburn), the black pepper (had to keep the kids in mind) and added half a bag of frozen spinach (thawed and all liquids squeezed out). I was licking the pan after dinner to chase the last drops of this awesome sauce.
This is DEFINITELY going in to regular rotation in our house! Thank you for yet another amazing recipe! (Photo will be posted on Instagram shortly.)
Loved it. Added some of my special mushroom salt and enjoyed it even more with a few chilli flakes mixed through on serving. A real winner and easy to make too. No chin splatter with bolognaise is always a bonus.
“Chin splatter!” Oh, that’s gold, that’s exactly what it is!! 🙂
This makes me laugh. A few months ago we hired a woman to help us get organised and shortly after I decided that she’d tossed out all the dried pasta from the pantry so I went out and bought all new. Then one day I decided to start cleaning out the freezer and in the bottom drawer, she’d put all the pasta, taco shells and everything else she could fit in there.
So I’m all pasta’d up but I don’t have any risoni. I ate it all. 🙂 This dish looks like perfect comfort food.
Dried pasta in the freezer? That’s a new one!
I Made this recipe Las saturday and one word: AMAZING. My partner loved it! Do you own a restaurant in Sydney ? I’m living in newcastle and if you have a restaurant definitely I would go
Cheers!!
Maria.
Ps: thank you for your quick response to my question about the beef cheek in a pressure pot. Def I will try again. It is an awesome recipe.
Hi Maria! So lovely to hear from fellow Aussies! Nope, no restaurant, just me bumbling around my own kitchen. Ooh, one of my best friends lives in Newcastle! I LOVE Newcastle! Especially love that there are so many fab beaches in the area that you can even taken dogs too!! And the markets are better than any of the ones in Sydney. Hope you do try the beef cheek, I think you’ll love it! Suggest getting them from the butcher, usually cheaper than from Coles/Woolies etc. 🙂
OH, and I’m so glad you loved this recipe!! It’s so easy, isn’t it? Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know you loved it!! 🙂
Thank you for your answer. Indeed Newcastle is a beautiful place.
Made this last night and it was a huge hit. So easy and delicious… We added heaps of chopped kale to it and sprinkled the top with Parmesan, basil and pine nuts and it was amazing… Thanks for this one… A new favourite for the family…
Hi Tracey! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂 Thank you so much for coming back to let me know!
You always have the best one pot dishes! This looks so comforting! My husband and I always eat on our coffee table and in front of our TV for Game of Thrones’ nights. I love that this dish won’t be messy to eat! Not only it is a great couch food, I also don’t have to worry about my white (or light color) shirts 😀
Thank you so much, you’re so sweet!! And YES no mess is a huge + factor in this!! 😉
I always love your one pot meals! And I’m totally with you on the mechanics of trying to eat spaghetti while on the couch watching your favorite show – I look like a small child who just had their first bowl of pasta 😉 This is certainly much easier to consume while lounging 😉
I’ve never tried passata – I’ll have to give it a go!
Never tried passata? I am really curious, I thought it was becoming more common in the US? We could only get it in speciality stores 10 years ago but now they are in all the supermarkets, quite a few different options too!
Ah man!!! Now I want a bowl of this and a couch! 🙂
The couch part always sounds especially enticing! 😉
Anything I can cook in one pot always speaks to me! I always have some kind of pasta shape in my pantry, usually several. So I’d be prepared to make this! Really like the idea of orzo, though — such a fun shape, don’t you think? And this sauce looks terrific. Thanks!
Fun is right! Added bonus that you can eat it with a spoon! 🙂
Oh, yes, please – Nagi – love these kinds of dishes as you have probably guessed:-)
Always Rachel….our similarity when it comes to our taste in food is scary! N x
Are you serious! I made this the other week! I had no regular dried pasta in my drawer so I used the risoni that had been sitting in there forever. Great minds, huh!
I had some left over so I put it in a dish, smothered it with panko crumbs and grated cheddar and parmesan and baked it for 20 minutes. OMG!
Woah. Can’t believe we’re on the same page!! He he! (Are you sure it wasn’t homemade risoni you used?)
Ha! Highly unlikely!
This looks delicious! I love how you converted a non-date kind of food like spaghetti into one that you can gracefully eat on a date (even first dates) by using orzo.
Thank you Thao! I do love your reference to this as date food!!! Ha ha!!
LOL It’s true though, all great things in the kitchen happen from accidents and I think you nailed this one here. Yep this is great comfort food Nagi, perfect for having while watching tv. Oh and orzo is pasta, so you’re good! Looks delish 🙂
The watching TV + eating pasta is the important feature of this recipe! 🙂
I love the fact that it only takes 20 minutes, it always seems that I am short on time. I love the orzo with the bolognaise sauce.
Thanks for your kind words Dawn! 🙂
I am not a fan of spag bog, give me spag with just cheese anytime. Now I do like risoni so this is pinned for future reference. Thanks again for another great recipe. 🙂
He he! You made me laugh – WHO is not a fan of spag bog??!! (Oh and I love the way we shorten it to spag bog! I knew only Aussies would understand if I littered this recipe with those words!!)
Actually there is Nagi! The pasta must be tubular or wide with ridges so it can hold the thick sauce. But trust me, nothing holds that thick sauce better than a crusty piece of bread haha ! Auguri to you for breaking the old school Italian law bahaha
Ohhhhhh…..you’re bursting my bubble! Now I’m stressed out about braking an old Italian law!! Waaaa!
Don’t worry Nagi! It needed to be done lol I put mine on baked potato, a total nono , but so damn delicious !!
Nagi, you got me at 20 minutes , this Bolognese is totally speaking to me . The richness of it… Ahhhh….. You make anything look SCRUMPTIOUS!
Thanks Imma!! Somehow, making this with risoni DOES make it seem richer. 🙂 Love it!
My husband is the spag bol specialist in our house (or so he thinks!) but I bet I could give him a run for his money with this one! He would probably have something to say about it not having the ‘right’ pasta, but I totally agree with you … laziness wins every time!
I love your tip about the passata jars! What a great idea! Actually, my husband has ‘discovered’ this new ‘thing’ where he puts a whole bulb of garlic in a jar, puts the lid on and shakes it around until it’s all peeled. He was saying he needed a bigger jar – so now you’ve given me the perfect solution!
That is the coolest hack!! I have to give it a go! I wonder if it works with just a few cloves of garlic?
Though I’m a big fan of long pasta, sometimes short pasta in rich sauce feels like pure, stick-to-your-ribs comfort food! What a happy accident this is, Nagi. Gorgeous photos too…
Thanks Marissa! You know, sometimes the best things come from accidents! 😉 N x
Nagi, this recipe made my day, and I’m sure it will make my husband’s day when I make it. This is one of those meals that’s perfect to make in my electric skillet while we’re at the beach. I’m definitely adding it to my repertoire. (We keep spaghetti at home because that’s the one thing my husband cooks, but we don’t keep it at the beach because it’s a pain to try to cook it when our kitchen consists of a small microwave and an electric skillet.)
Made this for dinner tonight, and it came out really nice. We ended up eating only half our serving, because my husband has been sick all day, and I was so tired from cooking all day (plus laundry) that I was just not hungry. It will definitely be one of my regular beach house recipes. Hope you’re having a great time in Mexico.
Oh no! Is he ok now? The poor thing. And you were cooking all day? What has you so busy in the kitchen Susan? 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed this though, thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know!! Mexico City is wonderful, the people are delightful and so friendly and of course, the food is delicious and fascinating to learn more about. N x
Hi Nagi,
Yes, my husband is back to his old self today. We went to bed really early last night and slept well, and that really helps. Thanks for asking. I always like to let you know how a recipe turns out if I try it. You put so much effort into them that you deserve to get feedback from your readers.
Yesterday I had to make granola so I’d have it for breakfast today, plus cook lunch (pizza) and dinner (this dish). Today I’m back in the kitchen to prep for a couple of meals, plus fixing lunch and dinner. At the beginning of my cooking week, I generally have to spend more time in the kitchen. But I’m trying to reduce my efforts by preparing simpler meals.
I’m glad to hear that Susan. And thank you for your words of appreciation. 🙂 N x
It sounds great and technically, it is still pasta, just itsy bitsy shape like rice, but still pasta:-)
So true. I should have just called this “pasta bolognaise”!! 🙂