Once water is boiling, add orzo and cook until al dente, 4-6 minutes.

Remove from burner. Reserve 1 cup orzo cooking water.

Drain orzo in a colander/strainer and rinse under cold water. Set aside.

While orzo cooks, continue recipe.

Mince parsley, leaves and stems.

Zest and halve lemon. Cut halves into wedges.

Halve and peel onion. Cut halves into 1/4" dice.

Mince garlic.

In a mixing bowl, combine parsley, half the garlic (reserve remaining for soup), 1 tsp. lemon zest, and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

Remove sausage from casing, if necessary.

Roll sausage into 1-inch meatballs, roughly 12-16 meatballs. Feel free to skip making balls and simply crumble, if desired.

Place another medium pot over medium heat and add 2 tsp. olive oil.

Add meatballs to hot pot and cook until browned, 2-3 minutes per side.

If skipping meatballs, add sausage directly to hot pot. Break into 1" pieces until golden and crisp, 4-6 minutes.

Transfer sausage to a plate, reserving rendered fat in pot. Keep pot over medium heat.

Sausage will finish cooking in a later step.

Add onions and carrot and celery blend to hot pot. Stir occasionally until softened, 4-6 minutes.

Stir in remaining garlic and half the red pepper flakes (use less if spice-averse; reserve remaining for garnish) until fragrant, 30-60 seconds.

Stir in chicken base, 2 cups water, tomato sauce, and pesto (to taste), scraping bottom of pot to release any brown bits.

Bring to a simmer.

Once simmering, add meatballs to hot pot and stir occasionally until sausage reaches a minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees, 5-7 minutes.

Add orzo and stir until combined and heated through, 30-60 seconds.

If too thick, add reserved orzo cooking water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, until desired consistency is reached.

Remove from burner.

Plate dish as pictured on front of card, garnishing with cheese, gremolata, and remaining red pepper flakes (to taste). Squeeze lemon wedges over to taste. Bon appétit!