Lemon Herb and Parmesan Orzo

Pasta. A true expression of culinary artistry. If you’ve ever been in the pasta aisle of you’re grocery store, you know exactly what I mean. There’s Farfalle, rotini, manicotti, lasagna, linguine, tortellini, rigatoni, the list goes on and on and on. Pasta comes in all shapes, sizes and colors, that make each type of pasta very unique There so many varieties, and recipes which make pasta so versatile. Plus it cooks fast and it’s cheap.

Now one of my favorite shapes of pasta is orzo, which is rice shaped pasta, and I discovered it when I was in the grocery store, in the pasta aisle just searching for another shape of pasta to experiment with, and then I looked up, and saw this small box of what I thought was rice,but the more I looked at it I realized that is was pasta, so I grabbed the box, and practically ran to my mom who was in the aisle over and asked her if I could get it, thank the Lord she said yes! So we bought it, and as soon as I got home, I started experimenting with it, trying different flavors, and herbs, and cheeses, I came up with this delicious recipe (that can be eaten as a snack, side dish or even a meal), and it’s been my favorite shaped pasta ever since.

Here’s the video

Ingredients:

1 cup of orzo pasta

1/4 cup of fresh chopped curly parsley

1/4 cup of fresh chopped cilantro

1/4 cup of fresh chopped green onion (both green and white parts)

1 lemon

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons of butter

1/4 cup of olive oil

Directions:

First put your orzo on to cook according to the package directions , in the mean time zest about 1/2 of a teaspoon of lemon zest, and add it to a bowl along with chopped parsley, green onion, and cilantro.

When pasta is done,add in the juice of half the lemon, add in butter, herbs, and lemon zest. Toss together and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, and enjoy!

April 12th, 2010 | ChefShauniece | 1 Comment |