grated romano cheese, fresh chopped mint or parsley, and/or extra-virgin olive oil, for servingoptional
Instructions
Brown the ground beef and onion in a large pot over medium-high heat until fully cooked, about 6 minutes.
Add the whole can of tomato paste, kosher salt (1 teaspoon), black pepper to taste, ground cinnamon (1/4 teaspoon), and dried spearmint (1 heaping teaspoon).
Stir to coat the meat in the tomato paste and spices and cook until tomato paste begins to brown, about two minutes.
Add the four cups of water; bring to a boil.
Add orzo (1 cup); stir, cover, and simmer on low, stirring occasionally, until orzo is cooked (approximately 20 minutes).
Serve with grated Romano cheese and chopped fresh mint or parsley, and a drizzle of olive oil, if desired.
Notes
I recommend using lean ground beef for this. If you use a fattier kind, or with ground lamb, it may be greasy, so I recommend using a spoon to scoop out and discard some of the fat after browning the meat.
If you use ground turkey, I recommend adding 1 tablespoon of butter or olive oil to the pan when you cook it, since turkey is so lean.
The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.