Summertime is the best season for fresh vegetables and this Sweet Corn and Zucchini Orzo with Crispy Proscuitto highlight some of the best farmer’s market ingredients of summer.
The combination of sweet corn and creamy orzo with flecks of crispy prosciutto make this dish stand out as a true delight. It’s rather simple to put together in a matter of minutes — just a bit of slicing and dicing with a good knife or mandoline, but nothing a homecook can’t handle. The entire meal is cooked in a skillet and served family-style in the same vessel, making clean up easy.
I like to serve this orzo recipe as a main course, but it would be great as a side dish with some grilled fish or chicken. The flavors remind me of California at its best and bring me back to when me and my mother would grow our own stalks of corn and zucchini in the backyard — just to appreciate how food was grown.
Ingredients
1 stalk fresh corn, cut from cob
1 medium zucchini, sliced thinly
1 small jalapeno, diced
1 shallot, minced
3 slices fresh prosciutto
1/2 cup orzo pasta
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon butter
6 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade (see video)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
olive oil for cooking
(Serves 2-4)
To Prepare:
- In a skillet over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and prosciutto. Cook until crisp, about 3 minutes. Remove and rest on a plate to cool.
- In same skillet, add corn, shallot and jalapeno, stir. Cook for 2 minutes and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Add orzo and broth, stir.
- Turn heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add a few tablespoons of water, if needed.
- Add zucchini and continue to cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add butter and stir. Remove from heat and add basil, parmesan and crispy prosciutto over top. Serve and Enjoy!
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