Description
This recipe for Asparagus Orzo is perfect for spring! Quick and easy, this vegetarian dinner can be made in 30-minutes! Enjoy it as a side dish or see notes on how to serve it chilled as a salad.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 6 ounces dry orzo pasta (1 cup)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 shallot- diced
- 3 garlic cloves- rough chopped
- 1 extra large bunch asparagus, tough ends removed, cut into 1 inch pieces.
- 1 cup snap peas, sliced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 lemon
- 1/4- 1/2 cup fresh herbs ( parsley, dill, basil or tarragon)
- 1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled; more to taste
Instructions
- Cook Pasta. Set salted water to boil and cook orzo according to directions, cook to al dente. Drain and save 1 cup of hot salted pasta water.
- Saute. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add chopped shallot and garlic, and saute until golden and fragrant. Add asparagus and snap peas. Lower to medium low. Saute 5-ish minutes until tender-crisp, stirring often, scooping up the shallot from the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper and add the lemon zest of one lemon.
- Combine. Add the warm orzo to the skillet with the asparagus and goat cheese and some hot pasta water a little at a time, to loosen it up to your liking.
- Season. Fold in the herbs, taste and adjust salt and lemon juice to taste. Season with pepper or chili flakes. Serve immediately while loose and creamy. 😉
Notes
Option to serve this chilled as a salad- place the cooked asparagus mixture in a bowl and let it cool. Rinse the cooked orzo with very cold water until cold. Drain, add to bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, generous squeeze of lemon juice. Mix and adjust salt and lemon, adding more if bland. The pasta will soak up the salt when it sits in the fridge so it will probably need more later. Refrigerate – then taste once more before serving, again adjusting, adding more lemon and salt to taste. Fold in the freshherbs right before serving. Add crumbled feta.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ¼ cup
- Calories: 243
- Sugar: 4.9 g
- Sodium: 379.3 mg
- Fat: 10.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 29.9 g
- Fiber: 4.8 g
- Protein: 10.2 g
- Cholesterol: 6.5 mg