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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 30 Minutes |
Ready In: 30 Minutes Servings: 8 |
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Makes a great side dish, but I often cook it for dinner. Mint gives it a great flavor and chic peas add a nice texture. You can really play with this by adjusting seasoning, using different amounts of cheese or adding/subtracting vegetables. Ingredients:
2/3 1 lb box orzo |
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil |
1 small to medium zucchini, diced |
1 small to medium summer squash, diced |
2 small to medium carrots, diced |
1/2 bunch asparagus, cut into small pieces |
1/2 red onion, chopped |
1 can chic peas, drained |
3 cloves garlic, chopped |
salt and freshly ground black pepper |
white pepper to taste |
1/2 cup parsley leaves, chopped |
1/4 cup mint leaves, finely chopped |
3/4 cup feta or goat cheese, or both, crumbled |
juice of 2 lemons, or to taste |
Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add orzo and cook to al dente.
2. The idea with the diced vegetables is to dice them quite small, so in every bite you get equal amounts veggies and orzo.
3. Heat extra-virgin olive oil in a skillet, add zucchini, squash, carrots, asparagus, onions and garlic, season with salt, white pepper and black pepper and cook about 5-6 minutes until still slightly crispy. (Time varies based on vegetable size. Don't cook the vegetables until they're soft, or you'll have a mushy texture).
4. Add chic peas and heat through.
5. Toss with herbs, lemon juice, orzo and cheese, adjust salt, white and black pepper, and serve.
6. You can easily control the seasoning - add more white pepper and mint to make it spicier, or more or less lemon juice to give it an acidic bite.
7. As for consistency, use more goat cheese to make it a creamy dish. Cut the goat cheese entirely and use feta only if you'd rather it not be creamy at all. And, if you're just feeling more cheese, go to town.
8. I like to use 2/3 of a 1 pound box of orzo, but it's really up to you. If you want a higher veggies to pasta ratio, cut back to 1/2 of a box. Add some of the cooked orzo at the end, toss, see how it looks and then add a little more if you like. You can always put more in, you can't take it out once you'd added it.
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