Orzo Pasta with Lemon, Spinach, Pine Nuts & Sun-Dried Tomatoes
I am always looking for interesting side dishes that include more than one food group. This is a recipe I found long ago in the newspaper and I finally tried it. It’s a good combination of textures and flavors, which is always more appealing than a one-dimensional dish, and it’s a great choice when serving an entrée with a more mild flavor, such as cod.
For those of you who have never used orzo, it is a rice-shaped pasta found in small boxes in the pasta aisle. And, like pasta, it absorbs the flavor of whatever sauce you use.
One side note…this recipe calls for pine nuts, which I often don’t have in my pantry. Sometimes I will buy them in bulk, freeze them, and use as needed. This time I substituted walnuts, which is a less expensive alternative, and can also be substituted in pesto.
Orzo Pasta with Lemon, Spinach, Pine Nuts & Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Ingredients:
- 12 ounces orzo
- 4 ounces sun-dried tomatoes, oil packed, chopped fine
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (the zest from a medium-sized lemon)
- Juice from one whole lemon
- 1 cup fresh spinach, stems removed, chopped fine (I used baby spinach)
- 2 ounces pine nuts or walnuts
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Steps:
- Cook orzo according to package directions.
- Zest the lemon, then juice it and set both zest and juice aside.
- Chop sun-dried tomatoes and spinach, set both aside.
- Whisk lemon juice and olive oil in a small bowl, then add salt and pepper (start with ¼ teaspoon each, then add to taste when recipe is complete).
- Drain orzo and return it to the pan.
- Stir in lemon zest, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and nuts.
- Toss with lemon juice and oil mixture.
- Add additional salt and pepper, if needed.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Enjoy!
A great dish to served with baked cod.
Dugan's Kitchen 