Thaw and peel the shrimp if they have shells on them. I get the small shrimp that are already peeled and deveined for this recipe.
Peel garlic cloves. Cut cherry tomatoes in half. Grate parmesan cheese. Slice mini peppers into rounds or slice bell pepper into strips. Cut the onion into strips and cut the strips in half or in thirds. Zest and juice the lemon.
1 large lemon, 1 bulb garlic, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, ½ large sweet onion, 6 mini sweet peppers
Setting up the Ninja Speedi
Place the inner pot into the NInja Speedi. Pour in the vegetable broth and lemon juice. Add the garlic coves and butter.
Just before you are ready to start cooking, add in the orzo and stir it so it is under the liquid.
1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
Place the rack on the top level of the Ninja Speedi. Spread out the vegetables on the rack and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
1 cup cherry tomatoes, ½ large sweet onion, 6 mini sweet peppers, 1 Tablespoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon fine grind sea salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Cooking in the Ninja Speedi
Close the lid and turn the lever up to rapid cook. Select the steam and crisp function. Set the temperature to 400℉/200℃ and the time for 10 minutes. Press start.
Don't open the lid until the countdown has at least reached 5 minutes into the cooking time. I recommend checking on the vegetables when there are 2 minutes left and you can stop the cooking cycle anytime after that. I like to go the whole 10 minutes so my vegetables have a nice char, but if you want less char on them then stop the cycle after 8 minutes.
Once the cooking cycle is done open the lid and take some tongs and grab the small handle in the middle of the rack. Tilt the rack over to dump the veggies into the pot. Remove the rack and stir the orzo and vegetables.
Finishing Up
Add in the lemon zest, shredded parmesan, shrimp, baby spinach and stir. Try to get the shrimp under the orzo pasta as much as possible so they cook.
Turn the Speedi off and close the lid. Wait 5 minutes for the shrimp to cook using the residual heat of the pasta. Taste the orzo and season with salt and pepper if needed.
Scoop into a serving bowl and garnish with fresh basil and lemon slices. Serve & Enjoy!
If you want to use larger shrimp than the recipe calls for they may not cook using the residual heat in 5 minutes. You can either cook larger shrimp ahead of time or put the larger shrimp into the pot with the cooked orzo and use sear/sauté to gently heat the Speedi to cook the shrimp. You will want to stir often and make sure the orzo doesn't overcook.