Ground Venison Orzo with Tomato Cream Sauce

By Jeff Benda

Instagram
www.WildGameandFish.com

Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

This easy Ground Venison Orzo with Tomato Cream Sauce is the perfect recipe for busy parents who have kids at home for the summer. It all comes together in one pot in only 30 minutes, making it the perfect meal to feed our hungry 8-year-old daughter after a long day of swimming lessons, dance lessons, and day camp.

Summer can seem like a “free for all”, but as a work-at-home dad, I need some predictability at mealtime. That’s where a quick and simple ground venison recipe comes in. After a successful hunting season, I put 5 deer in the freezer. That’s a lot of venison steaks for the grill, roasts for the crockpot, and venison burger for things like venison spaghetti, Swedish meatballs, or this venison with orzo. If you don’t have orzo in your cupboard, you can substitute white rice or macaroni.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound ground venison
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
• 1 (14 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 3/4 cup venison or beef broth
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add olive oil, ground venison, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and black pepper to a Dutch oven and sauté over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, breaking up meat with wooden spoon, until meat begins to sizzle.
2. Stir in the onion and garlic and sauté another 5 minutes.
3. Add Herbes de Provence, red pepper flakes, and orzo. Stir well to combine and cook for about 2 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomato sauce, Worcestershire, sugar, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and beef broth and cook another 8 minutes, stirring often to prevent the orzo from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
5. Reduce the heat to low, stir in the heavy cream, Parmesan, and spinach, and cook for another 2 minutes until thickened. Serve immediately.