We love to cook with orzo around here! It’s a great change up from rice and cooks in half the time. Perfect for quick skillet dinners and it’s a great canvas for a host of flavors!
Need a quick and easy side dish? Than Orzo is your friend!
Sounds like an old Italian name doesn’t it? “Ciao Orzo! Hows the Famiglia?” I always thought I had a little Italian in me. I mean I feel it ya know? This constant craving for pasta and googling Italian phrases, and then there is my crush on Orzo…I’m telling ya, if it wasn’t for that damned family tree trashing my dreams….
I’ve made a few recipes with this pasta like One Pot Italian Chicken with Orzo and Mediterranean Orzo Salad. I’ve come to really love how fast it cooks up. This time, I’ve combined the Orzo simply with lemon, butter, parmesan and asparagus. The asparagus gets thrown into the pasta water during the last few minutes of cooking….how clever is that? One pot side dish..yay! or “Un piatto contorno…yay!” Turns out ‘yay’ in Italian is, well…just ‘yay.’
You can certainly toss in whatever you have hanging around to veggie up the dish. Red peppers, green onions, zucchini…even add in cubed chicken for a one pot meal!
Mangia! Mangia!
Kathi
Lemony Orzo Pasta with Asparagus
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups Orzo pasta
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 pound asparagus stalks cut into bite size pieces
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring water to boil in large saucepan.
- Add Orzo and cook until slightly tender. About 10 minutes.
- Toss asparagus into water with the Orzo.
- Continue to cook another 2-3 minutes until asparagus is fork tender.
- Drain and pour pasta and asparagus back into pan.
- Add lemon juice and zest, parmesan and butter.
- Stir until blended,
- Salt and pepper to taste and serve!
Nutrition
Karen says
I made this and thought it was very bland. Followed the recipe Definitely needed something else.
Jenny says
Easy to follow recipe, and it was so yummy!
Judy says
I add sauteed shallots, chopped fresh parsely or basil, and red pepper flake. Makes a big difference.
Debbie says
How many cups does this recipe make and how many will it serve?
Kathi Kirk says
Hi Debbie! It makes about 6-8 cups. It’s a pretty big bowl of it when it’s all done. I updated the recipe with the serving sizes. Thank you!
Pat says
I like Italian, I like pasta, I like quick! This sounds wonderful and I admit that I have not used much orzo in my pasta dishes, I must change that! Thanks for sharing this recipe. 🙂
Elizabeth says
I love orzo. Good thing the Whole30 is over, tee hee. Pinning this so I’ll have the recipe when the asparagus in my garden is ready.
Anne|Craving Something Healthy says
I love how quick and easy this is, and how it looks like summer food! BTW – I know what you mean about thinking you have some Italian in you. I’m 100% Polish but I feel it too! I’ll bet if we look back far enough…
Kathi Kirk says
Maybe being Italian is all in the heart? Pretty sure we got us some heart!
Kathi