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Creamy lemon and pepper orzo pasta

Do you have days when you don’t feel like cooking and have zero energy to change and fix your face and hair to go out to eat? And thinking about pizza delivery makes you cringe…yeah some days are like that. And many a times on such days, I will step up and announce that I am going to make something super simple yet comforting and filling for dinner. This orzo recipe is one such recipe. Though either Dr. A or Ms. little A will more than likely offer to make something to go along and then may be add a salad to the menu. Uncork some wine. Toast some bread to make garlic bread or bruschetta…and so on. So you now know how things roll in my life – a meal of simple bowl of pasta snowballs into a 3 or may be even 4 course meal. Go figure!

This pasta recipe by itself is really quick and my favorite part is that I cook the pasta in just enough water or broth so that I don’t have to drain it..it cooks just like rice. Hello…no extra dishes to drain and transfer the pasta into….smart me..:). And just a handful of pantry/refrigerator ingredients and you’ve got yourself a keeper.

Ingredients:

Orzo – 1 cup

Water/chicken/vegetable broth – 2 and a 1/2 cups

Butter – 2 tablespoon

Heavy cream – 1/4 cup

Cream cheese – 2 tablespoon (I used the chive flavored cream cheese)

Parmesan cheese – 3 tablespoon, grated

Lemon juice – from 1/2 lemon

Lemon zest – from 1 lemon

Fresh chives – 4-5 stalks

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Just like as you would make basmati rice, set the liquid you are using to boil in a saucepan on medium high heat. I prefer using chicken stock to add more flavor to the pasta. But feel free to use water or vegetable stock to make it a vegetarian dish or to save yourself a trip to the grocery store. Once boiled, add the pasta to it, lower the heat, and cook for about 8-10 minutes or till the liquid is absorbed. At this point, cover the pasta pot with a lid and turn the heat off.

Zest one lemon and then juice the lemon. Snip the chives – kitchen shears work best for this. I used the chives from our garden – so fresh and so flavorful. In about 5 minutes, add the butter, cream, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, most of the chives, salt and pepper to the cooked pasta and give a big mix. The heat from the pasta should be enough to melt the butter and cream cheese and make the pasta creamy. Test for seasonings. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle some more chives and freshly ground black pepper on the Orzo. Enjoy

Love – Vaishali.

Notes:

If you have leftover pasta, add a splash of milk to warm it up.

Tools used:

Sauce pan with lid

Knife and chopping board

Kitchen shears

Spatula.

10 Comments

  1. FlySoulmates

    May 22, 2018 at 10:27 am

    It looks delicious. Thank you for sharing this post! I need to check it out!

  2. Teo

    May 22, 2018 at 12:30 pm

    Seems easy and so delicious, I hope I can make it look the same

  3. Pracreation

    August 15, 2018 at 11:45 am

    Its a great recipe. I’m a vegetarian so I’m going to use veges instead of non-veg items. Thanks for the recipe.

  4. TheHappyFoodKitchen

    August 15, 2018 at 4:24 pm

    I don’t make many creamy sauces but this one is so light! It’s also great for a family where one child loves pasta and the other rice as the textures are perfect for both!

  5. Luci

    August 16, 2018 at 2:14 am

    This orzo looks really delicious and super easy to do. I’ll have to try this recipe out the next time I plan on having rice with a dish.

  6. Moni

    August 16, 2018 at 3:56 pm

    I love orzo pasta! I have wonderful recipe from my grandma – orzo with chicken 🙂 This one is also very good, I adore the combination lemon and pasta!

  7. tachira wiltshire

    August 16, 2018 at 6:18 pm

    I have never tried Orzo before this looks so creamy and delicious.

  8. Erica D Ardali

    August 19, 2018 at 11:20 am

    I haven’t tried orzo before but this post is making me want it! I love lemon pasta

  9. click here

    October 8, 2018 at 4:49 am

    Removing the whey gives the Greek Yogurt a denser consistency. It also creates a yogurt that is full of protein. In fact, Greek yogurt has almost double the amount of protein than regular yogurt. Due to it having more protein, it will keep you fuller longer than if you used regular yogurt or Greek styled yogurt.

    1. Vaishali

      October 16, 2018 at 9:33 am

      Thanks for sharing this information!

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