Mediterranean Pork and Orzo
On a really busy day, this meal in a bowl is one of my top picks. It's quick to put together, leaving a lot more time to relax at the table. —Mary Relyea, Canastota, New York
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 pounds pork tenderloin
- 1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 quarts water
- 1-1/4 cups uncooked orzo pasta
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 package (6 ounces) fresh baby spinach
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
Reviews
This was quick and easy. I used a lemon-pepper pre-seasoned tenderloin, so I didn't rub in the pepper before cutting the tenderloin into cubes. I actually liked it better the second day, as the flavors melded together more.
Making this for our dinner tonight along with a chopped salad. I marinated the pork in balsamic vinaigrette overnight and also cooked the orzo in half water, half chicken broth. Those were the only changes I made. Great and tasty. Will make it again!
Really easy to make. I bought garlic seasoned pork loin which really made the flavors pop. Delicious!
It was very good but it needed more flavor. I followed the recipe and the end result was very bland. I added oregano and a few splashes of lemon juice and it made a big improvement! I will be making this again for sure!
My family was skeptical but loved it. I did add garlic, salt and adobo for a little more flavor. Will definitely repeat
This was easy and delicious! I added two cloves of minced garlic to the oil before cooking the pork. I cooked the orzo separately and mixed the spinach in after draining it. I added Greek seasoning, some extra salt and a squeeze of lemon juice to the mixture before serving.
After reading reviews on this recipe, I decided to proceed with caution. Looking at the ingredients, I could tell this dish would need a little something extra. A little TLC if you will. Instead of cooking pork in the skillet, I decided to slow cook mine for about 8 hrs (I cant stand to eat big chunks of pork), so that it would practically melt in your mouth. Also, while boiling the orzo, I added garlic a dash of garlic powder, onion powder, and olive oil to the water. Later, I added the spinach as instructed to do so. Might I add, when slow cooking the pork tenderloin, add an onion to the mix. It will make the tenderloin extra tender (2 cups of water, tenderloin, half an onion cut into two, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp salt, and ground red pepper-- just a dash). I transferred the pork to a skillet and shredded (pulled it apart), added halved grape tomatoes. Cooked for about 3 minutes then added orzo mixture to the skillet. Feta cheese added, a sprinkle more of salt... and left over feta sprinkled on top. It was absolutely delicious done this way. Hope this helps! -E
Loved it!
This was delicious, and something to change up the usual pasta and sauce. Loved it! I added some Italian seasoning and oregeno to the final product and I think that did add some good flavor. One thing I will say though, even though this is fairly quick and you technically eat it in a bowl, it does require a fair amount of pots/skillets/cutting board usage so it's not like a one skillet kind of thing. So worth it though! I'm trying to break the habit of cooking everything with chicken so this was a nice experiment! Also, I actually used less feta because I ended up not having as much as this calls for. Instead I sprinkled on some parmesean cheese and I think it turned out great! It might have been too cheesy otherwise, and it really didn't need it! I don't get the hate on the seasoning...if you can tell by the recipe it needs more seasoning, just be creative and add some. It's *okay* to use a recipe as a base and add your own flavor.
Lots of yummy ingredients go into this recipe but not enough flavor. Needs something to spark it up.