Recipe: Lemon Orzo and Asparagus

If you haven’t checked out Pinterest yet, you really should.  It’s a great place for wasting time and gathering ideas (if you need an invite, let me know).  I know some people use it to get home improvement ideas, well I basically use it for food and fashion ideas.

I recently found this recipe from A Big Mouthful and decided to give it a try last week.  I love everything about it. Orzo, asparagus, lemon (ok, the I’m not too fond of tomatoes, but they worked well with the whole dish).

I had this dish for dinner one night and lunch the next day.  For dinner I ate it warm and for lunch I ate it cold.  Although it was really good warm, I preferred it cold.

12 oz. orzo
1 bunch fresh asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 lemon, zested and juiced
4 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbs. fresh parsley, minced
Kosher salt
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano (optional)

Cook 12oz of Orzo pasta per the package instructions.

Blanch asparagus by cooking in boiling water for 2 or 3 minutes.  Remove asparagus from boiling water and put in a bowl of ice water to stop the asparagus from cooking (I like my asparagus a little more done than blanched so I cooked it a little longer, maybe 5 minutes).

Cut asparagus into 1 to 2 inch pieces and halve or quarter tomatoes.  Add blanched asparagus and tomato halves.  (I love vegetables, so I always add more than the recipe calls for.  In this case, I’m not a huge fan of tomatoes, so I added extra asparagus and cut down on the tomatoes).

Mix olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic and salt in a small bowl.  Stir into orzo and vegetables.  Stir in parsley and grated Parmigiano Reggiano (The cheese it optional, and I decided to skip it, I KNOW, what’s wrong with me!?)

This was a great dish, one that I will make again.  It’s light and great for a hot summer day.  It would also be great to take to a 4th of July picnic.

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