One of my favorite dishes is Damn Delicious' Slow Cooker Enchilada Orzo. I've made it many, many times over the years. Originally, I made it exactly as written, Crock Pot and all.
As time went by, my roommate's biological feud with tomatoes threatened to remove this beloved meal from my repertoire. I wasn't willing to let it go without a fight. Thus, the recipe morphed into a tomato-free, all vegan, stovetop version that let me keep my roommate and my menu.
If you're looking for a pasta dish without tomatoes, I hope you give this one a try. It's crowd-pleasing. It's easy to throw together. And yes, it is damn delicious.
Vegan Orzo Verde (adapted from Damn Delicious)
Ingredients:
- 1 jar salsa verde (about 16oz)
- 1 can green enchilada sauce
- 1 can chopped green chiles (can be omitted if your salsa is on the spicy side)
- 1 cup veggie broth (I use Better than Bouillon concentrate)
- 1 can black beans
- 2 cups orzo pasta (I'm sure you could use another small pasta shape, such as stars or ditalini, but I'm hooked on the texture of orzo "grains")
- 4oz vegan cream cheese (Tofutti and Violife both work great)
- 1 cup frozen corn
- Cilantro to taste
- In a soup pot, combine the salsa, enchilada sauce, chiles (if using), veggie broth, and black beans. Cover and bring to a boil.
- To the boiling pot, add orzo and cook just shy of desired tenderness.
- Stir in cream cheese and frozen corn until the cream cheese is fully melted and the corn is warm.
- Add cilantro to your heart's content and serve as big ol' bowls of cozy.
