Naked Summer Tomato Orzo with a Lemon Kick

As you guys may remember, I’m a huge Naked Juice fan. I love their juices and always look forward to trying out new flavors.

Their newest flavor is actually a vegetable and fruit juice Power Garden blend called Tomato Kick. There’s no added sugar (9 grams in the bottle) and it’s made up of tomatoes, red bell pepper, celery, carrot, orange, and a hint of lemon. Through Glam I was given the opportunity to create a recipe to share with you guys that is going to be entered in a Pinterest contest. Every time you vote for my recipe you’re entered to win some seriously cool prizes. The challenge was to use Naked’s new juice in a creative and fun way. I figured what was more creative than turning a drink into a pasta sauce? I’ll talk about that more at the end of this post. First I want to share with you the recipe!

When Josh and I first tasted Naked’s Tomato Kick we knew it would be a perfect accompaniment to pasta. The flavor was so rich and tasty. Josh and I had fun coming up with the recipe and gathering the ingredients that I then took over to Lily’s for some girl time cooking. I brought some back to Josh so he wouldn’t miss out on the fun. We created a Summer Tomato Orzo with a Lemon Kick. It is fabulous. Seriously, if you’re looking for an easy, healthy summer recipe that is going to knock your socks off you need to give this a try. We knew the recipe would be tasty before we made it but we had no idea how delicious it would be until we were all digging in. I will definitely be making more of this!

Summer Tomato Orzo with a Lemon Kick

Serves 4

• 1 and a half bottles of Naked’s Tomato Kick
• 1/2 small yellow onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1/2 pound orzo pasta
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons light cream
• Handful of basil (fresh is always preferred but I was out and used dry and it still turned out amazing)
• Lemon, for zest
• Handful of fresh parmesan, for garnish
• Salt and pepper, to taste

This recipe could not be easier which is one of the things I love most about it. You shouldn’t have to slave away for hours to be able to serve a good meal to your family. You start off by dicing the onion and pepper and sauteing with olive oil until they’re cooked but still a little crisp. You don’t want them to lose all of their crunch.

At the same time you want to be cooking a half a pound of orzo pasta. Since you’re cooking half the box (and it will then be simmering in a sauce on the stove) you only have to cook it for half the recommended time on the back of the box.

Mince the garlic.

And then you add the orzo, garlic, and Naked Tomato Kick juice to the onion and pepper. By adding it to the pan where you cooked the onions and peppers you ensure you’re keeping all the yummy flavors and juices. You want to simmer it all for ten minutes.

The sauce will start to thicken up by this point, and smell amazing. Add basil, salt, and pepper to taste. Then take the pasta off the heat and add the light cream. As you mix it thoroughly the sauce will take on a lighter, creamier color like in the picture above.

Using a microplane you want to zest the outside of the lemon.

Once you have plated the pasta use the lemon zest, fresh parm, and more basil as garnish. I promise this dish is one that will be sure to please your whole family. The fresh veggies pull out the veggies used in the Naked Juice and the spices give the pasta a warm and tangy flavor.

If you make this dish I would love to hear what you think of it. And if this sounds like a dish you would like to try I would love if you would vote for me in the Naked Pinterest Sweepstakes. It’s a different kind of contest where there are no prizes for the recipe winners, the prizes are given to those who vote and spread the word about the contest. (AKA you!) I thought it was a pretty cool idea and would love to see you guys win. For more info on the contest and directions on how to enter (and share my recipe) check back on my blog on Monday, June 17. I’ll have all the details for you in a new post then.

Question of the Day: What’s your favorite fruit or veggie to drink in juice form?

Power Garden is Naked Juice’s new veggie drink lineup with 1lb. of veggies in every bottle*.  With delicious flavors that only Naked could blend, Power Garden offers one of the easiest ways to get your daily servings of veggies and fruits, along with good sources of fiber, vitamins and minerals. Learn more at http://www.nakedjuice.com/veggiedrinks.  *weight of vegetables, prior to juicing

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Naked via Glam Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Naked.