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Orzo Risotto

Our nephew (make that great, great nephew) and I prepared dinner that included roasted chicken, Ratatouille (our his request) and finished out the menu with our verion of Herbed Orzo Risotto. He  gave dinner a double thumbs up!



Orzo Risotto        4 to 8 serving  Grain-shaped orzo pasta is cooked like risotto to create a creamy side dish.  

Ingredients:                                         Serves 4:                      Serves 8:

Olive oil                                               3 tablespoons              6 tablespoons

Minced onions, yellow or white           6 tablespoons              3/4 cup

Orzo (grain-shaped pasta)                    1 cup                           2 cups

Boiling chicken stock or broth –          3 cups                          6 cups

   more or less as needed, or swap about ½ cup white wine for /1/2 cup broth

Coarse kosher salt (if chicken stock concentrate is used to make broth, 

you may need to omit or just salt to taste)

Italian parsley, chopped, if desired        3 tablespoons              6 tablespoons

Parmesan cheese, if desired

 

1.    Heat olive oil in heavy, large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. 

2.    Add orzo and sauté 5 minutes.  Add about 2 cups of the boiling chicken stock and salt. Simmer uncovered until most of liquid is absorbed, add 2 more cups of stock; continue process until orzo is tender, liquid is absorbed, and risotto is creamy—about 18 minutes; stir often.  

3.    Remove from heat. Mix in fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese if desired.

 

Variations: 

q  Add a couple of cloves of minced garlic along with the onions.

q  Add sliced mushroom and sauté along with the onions.

q  Add veggies such as asparagus, diced and cooked butternut squash, etc. 

Make Ahead Option:  Orzo may be made ahead and held in a slow cooker set on low.  Or make it right before guests arrive; turn off heat.  Reheat, adding additional stock, right before ready to serve.


Aiden & Aunt Meta’s version – In step #1, omit the onions and instead add a tablespoon or two of freshly chopped herbs (we used thyme leaves, basil, oregano and parsley) to infuse the oil with flavor/ We served the Parmesan on the side.  

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