Dinner Tonight: Orzo 'Risotto'
No, it's not as good as the real thing. It doesn't have the creaminess, the richness, the elegance. But I wanted a big bowl of creamy starch for dinner, I wanted it quickly—and real risotto will never be quick. This was a pleasant surprise: the orzo spends four or five minutes boiling to accomplish most of the cooking, then a short simmer in stock with some fresh thyme and orange zest completes it. Like the real deal, butter and Parmesan are stirred in at the end—unlike the real deal, this was ready in 15 minutes, including waiting for the boiling water.
The flavors are exceedingly subtle, and The Best of Gourmet: A Year of Celebrations recommends it as a side dish, which is probably wiser. If I made this again, it would be next to a roast chicken. It's more of a wingman. But if it had to be a main course, maybe some shallots or onion, sautéed beforehand in butter along with that thyme and orange zest, would boost the flavors; the parboiled orzo could be added to that along with stock. I'm also curious how long this would take without the pre-boiling: just dry orzo added to stock, simmered until tender and absorbed, more like a real risotto. Has anyone tried that?
Orzo 'Risotto'
- serves 4 -
Ingredients
1 pound box orzo
2 cups chicken stock or other broth
Zest of one orange
1/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
2 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Procedure
1. Bring a pot of salty water to boil, and cook orzo for 4-5 minutes, until softened but still hard in the center.
2. Meanwhile, bring a saucepan to a simmer with the stock, thyme, and zest. Add parboiled orzo and stir well.
3. Simmer orzo in stock, stirring regularly, until all the liquid is absorbed.
4. Off the heat, stir in cheese and butter, and season with salt and pepper.
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11 Comments:
You can also use a pressure cooker. Real risotto in 10 minutes without all the stirring.
bobbob at 4:31PM on 01/31/08
I totally make orzo risotto for myself when no one is looking. I guess it's acceptable now!
charm city cupcake at 4:54PM on 01/31/08
I make "risotto" with instant brown rice, sauteed vegetables, cream of mushroom soup and cheese on top. Sometimes I mix in a little cream cheese too. It's really creamy from the soup but takes much less time. Good stuff.
PestoGal at 5:17PM on 01/31/08
just dry orzo added to stock, simmered until tender and absorbed, more like a real risotto. Has anyone tried that?
Indian cookery (or "cuisine") uses orzo in this manner, often mixed with rice.
That is India the country not Indian like "Cowboys and Indians".
Karen Resta at 5:25PM on 01/31/08
I just made orzo with peas and parmesan -
Instead of boiling the orzo in water, I boil it in chicken stock, for the time allotted on the package. At 4 minutes left in cooking time, I stir in 1/3 bag of frozen peas. When the orzo is done cooking, remove from heat and stir in desired amount of parmesan. Finished dish is creamy, wonderfully starchy, and the peas add a kick of green.
Yum!
anastasia7173 at 7:41PM on 01/31/08
Huh? Isn't risotto rice risotto rice and orzo orzo?
I thought the whole point of using arborio rice is to get the grains of rice to break, so you're left with a creamy "wet" risotto? If you want additional creaminess, you add a touch of cream and butter at the end.
ssnmr77 at 7:51PM on 01/31/08
Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" has a great Orzo Risotto recipe. I don't remember the exact proportions, but its starts like regular risotto, cooking onions in butter, adding orzo, adding stock and cooking until done, then adding cheese. Its very easy, and a great side dish.
snackboy at 9:54PM on 01/31/08
Blake, it takes about 12 minutes to cook the orzo without parboiling. I've been making Sally Schneider's version for years -- always as a side. It's great with breaded chicken cutlets or tenders.
Saute a chopped onion until soft, then add some minced garlic and cook a few minutes more (not sure the original recipe had the onion and garlic). Add 1 cup orzo and stir for a few minutes, until the orzo "toasts" and some of the grains start to turn golden. Add a scant 2 cups water. Reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 12 minutes, until the orzo is al dente and the whole thing creamy. Watch carefully because you might need to add more water.
Dee at 9:28AM on 02/01/08
Lots of great ideas to try--thanks everyone!
Dee, that recipes sounds perfect and I'll try it next time.
Blake Royer at 11:56AM on 02/01/08
i have a recipe for something similar, chicken breast is browned then taken out, orzo added to pan with chicken stock and all the brown chicken bits scraped up. when it boils, add the chicken and some herbs back in, cover and simmer for about 12 min till pasta is done. serve with feta and fresh tomatoes and greek olives....so good and creamy and its a full meal in one pan!
tamariga at 1:37PM on 02/01/08
You inspired me last night to try something similar. I stuck a bit closer to traditional risotto method, as anastasia7173 and dee did.
I sauteed an onion in a mix of olive oil, garlic oil, and butter until very soft. Then added 1.5 c of orzo to toast - took 7 or 8 minutes. Meant to put in a 1/2 c of wine at this point but forgot. Then added 4 c hot chicken stock all at once (big difference from risotto), brought to a boil, then turned down to a simmer. After about 12-13 minutes, it was a great texture. I added one t of frozen basil at this point. While this was cooking, I had steamed some spinach and barely warmed some frozen peas, keeping them in separate containers.
I then made 3 small finished versions:
-one with parmesan and ground pepper only;
-one with some spinach, parmesan, pine nuts, ground pepper and a tiny amount of cayenne;
-one with spinach, peas, parmesan and ground pepper.
I did this partly to appeal to different tastes at the table, partly because I was curious. I was happy with all of them.
I could see some version of the dish going well with a roasted chicken, or poached or sauteed shrimp and asparagus (cooking for engineers had a recipe like this).
Thanks for the inspiration!
souvenir at 2:07PM on 02/01/08