Description
This recipe for Lemon Orzo with Asparagus- is perfect for spring! Quick and easy, serve this spring pasta “warm” as a dinner, or chilled as a side salad. Vegan adapatable.
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
- 1/2– 3/4 teaspoon salt and pepper (see notes)
- 2 lemons (zest and juice) or sub one lemon, if using preserved lemon
- 1/2 cup fresh dill (or basil, parsley or tarragon)
- optional: crumbled feta and 1-2 tablespoons preserved lemon (finely chopped)
Instructions
- Set salted water to boil and cook orzo according to directions.
- 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 5-7 minutes to 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.
- Drain pasta and if serving warm, save a little of the hot pasta water. (For Chilled pasta, see notes below. )
- Add the warm orzo to the skillet with the asparagus and just a little pasta water to loosen it up to your liking. Add the remaining olive oil, a generous squeeze of lemon juice and finely chopped preserved lemon if using (1-2 tablespoons).
- Fold in the fresh dill and sprinkle with optional feta (keeping in mind that feta will add salt too). Taste, and adjust salt and lemon juice to taste. Season with pepper or chili flakes. Serve immediately.
Notes
- If serving 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, optional preserved lemon. 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 fresh dill right before serving. Add crumbled feta.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 315
- Sugar: 5.4 g
- Sodium: 220.9 mg
- Fat: 10.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 51.4 g
- Fiber: 4.8 g
- Protein: 10.3 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg