Fire Roasted tomatoes, zucchini and Orzo

 Summer's here and the weather is beautiful.  Finally a few days of sunshine and warm weather. 

I got up early today remembering I had wanted to make the below recipe some time ago.  I had bought several of the ingredients already but needed some fresh zucchini.

 Note: zucchini spoils easily so when you buy it plan on using it.

I like to use zucchini in recipes but because of diet restrictions as far as seeds go I always look for thin and long zucchini and usually with a spoon scrape out the center as best 

 I like zucchini crisp with a little crunch and this recipe ca
lled for frying it for a few minutes and setting it aside until all the other ingredients were to my liking.  

It didn't take very long to make this( about 45 minutes) from prep to finish so I was ready to eat it in time for lunch.

Enjoy!  It's a nice summer lunch....

3

tablespoons olive oil 

2

medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices 

1

medium onion, chopped 

2

cloves garlic, finely chopped 

8

oz uncooked orzo pasta (1 cup) 

1 1/2

cups  vegetable broth or chicken broth (from 32-oz container)

1

can (14.5 oz)  fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained 

1

can (19 oz)  chick peas, drained, rinsed 

2

teaspoons grated lemon peel

1/2

teaspoon salt 

1/4

teaspoon pepper 

1

tablespoon lemon juice 

1/4

cup julienned fresh basil

Directions:

1

In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add zucchini; cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until zucchini is lightly browned. Transfer zucchini to plate.

2

Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil, the onion and garlic to skillet. Cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes or until softened. Add orzo; cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes or until orzo is lightly toasted. Stir in broth, tomatoes, chick peas, lemon peel, salt and pepper. Heat to boiling; cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook 8 to 10 minutes or until most of liquid has absorbed and orzo is almost tender.

3

Add zucchini and lemon juice to orzo mixture; stir to combine. Remove from heat, cover and let stand 3 to 5 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. Stir in basil,