Mushroom Garlic Orzo

What side dish goes well with Eggplant?  After thinking about that while I picked up some other groceries, I decided to make a new side dish I had never made before...or even worked with!  Orzo pasta.  I had it before in salads and in restaurants, but I had never made it at home.  No time like the present!   I felt that a few simple additions would make that pasta more flavorful and I sure was right, it turned out delicious, was really easy and looked beautiful, I will be making this dish again when we have company!

Mushroom Garlic Orzo

Ingredients

• 1 c. orzo pasta
• 1 tbs. butter
• 1 c. mushrooms, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tbs. chopped parsley
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 tbs. olive oil

Directions

• Boil water and cook orzo pasta as directed.
• In a separate non-stick pan, melt butter and add chopped mushrooms.
• Cook mushrooms until soft and add garlic, mixing well.
• Drain pasta and return to pot.
• Add mushroom mixture to pasta, then add salt, pepper, parsley and olive oil, stirring well to mix.