Spinach orzo with basil is a creamy, vegetarian and delicious meal. It’s super easy, looks fancy, and contains vitamins and protein. Enjoy the spinach orzo with soft chickpeas and a handful of parmesan cheese—the perfect dish for a light and easy January.
INGREDIENTS:
- 150 g orzo pasta
- 1 l chicken broth (or 1l water and 2 stock cubes)
- juice of ½ lemon
- 100 ml cooking cream
- a handful of parmesan cheese
- 1 big onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 tbsps olive oil
- a handful of fresh basil leaves
- 120 g baby spinach
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- a few leaves of fresh rosemary
Spinach orzo with basil is a very easy and simple meal. You need basic ingredients and can easily swap into a vegan version by using vegan cheese and cooking cream. I bet this would taste lovely with a thick coconut cream and vegan cheese.
After a very generous (when it comes to food) Christmas, I promised myself to take January easy and make more nutritious recipes. More veggie and fruit-oriented recipes. Not because of “new year, new me”. But because I want to be healthy and eat food that doesn’t makes me tired.
Clean eating is a very toxic phrase to use. Especially when you are Gen Z and you observe these phrases from afar. On the other hand, I (born in 1996) see “clean eating” as something that helped me lose 45 kg (for real). Those are the recipes that don’t combine “full fat” ingredients, are VERY easy to make, and don’t include a lot of ingredients. Like this one for example.
We eat everything with no restrictions. We just go for more nutritious ingredients.
So, take this as a public announcement if you want, but this January we’re going to bake fewer desserts, and we will focus on nutritious food. Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
What is spinach orzo?
Orzo is pasta shaped like a large grain of rice. It’s usually made from flour but there are more versions of orzo pasta. Orzo is used in every culture differently. You can put it into a soup, or salad or bake it. In Slovakia, we call it “slovenská ryža” which means Slovak rice.
how to make spinach orzo with basil:
In a food processor chop up fresh spinach, basil, olive oil, salt, rosemary, and black pepper. Chop until it looks like a liquid.
Chop up the onion and mince the garlic. In a deeper pan fry the onion with garlic until soft and yellow – not brown.
After, add washed orzo and fry together for 2 minutes, stirring nonstop. Pour spinach liquid, and chicken broth (or veggie broth) into the same pan and bring to a boil on high heat. Decrease the heat, cover the pan and cook the orzo for 8-10 minutes.
Add cooking cream and parmesan cheese. Give it a good stir and cover it with a lid. I recommend turning off the heat and letting the flavours alone for another 10 minutes to sit. Add chickpeas on top. Enjoy!
LOOK AT MORE MAIN COURSES:
If you decide to make this Spinach Orzo with Basil at home, please tag me or send me a message on Instagram or Pinterest. Thank you so much. ❤️ I wish you all the best in 2023.
Spinach Orzo with Basil
Ingredients
- 150 g orzo pasta
- 1 l chicken broth (or 1l water and 2 stock cubes)
- juice of ½ lemon
- 100 ml cooking cream
- a handful of parmesan cheese
- 1 big onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 tbsps olive oil
- a handful of fresh basil leaves
- 120 g baby spinach
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- a few leaves of fresh rosemary
Instructions
- In a food processor chop up fresh spinach, basil, olive oil, salt, rosemary, and black pepper. Chop until it looks like a liquid.
- Chop up the onion and mince the garlic. In a deeper pan fry the onion with garlic until soft and yellow – not brown.
- After, add washed orzo and fry together for 2 minutes, stirring nonstop. Pour spinach liquid, and chicken broth (or veggie broth) into the same pan and bring to a boil on high heat. Decrease the heat, cover the pan and cook the orzo for 8-10 minutes.
- Add cooking cream and parmesan cheese. Give it a good stir and cover it with a lid. I recommend turning off the heat and letting the flavours alone for another 10 minutes to sit. Add chickpeas on top. Enjoy!
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