How bad is it that this was my dinner 4 nights in a row?
I don’t think I can eat any more orzo. Or mushrooms. Or spinach.
But I think I can give the Parmesan cream sauce a pass for now.
(Who are we kidding, right?)
But really, this orzo makes for such an amazing easy peasy veggie side dish.
It starts with a simple saute of mushrooms and shallots before your garlic cream sauce comes to magic.
With a little bit of flour, vegetable broth, half and half, and freshly grated Parmesan, this will truly be the cream sauce of your dreams.
Add chicken for a full meal, or keep it completely vegetarian.
Either way, it’ll be for dinner 4 nights in a row.
You’re welcome.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup orzo pasta
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 shallot, minced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 cups shredded baby spinach
DIRECTIONS:
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and shallot, and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in vegetable broth, and cook, whisking constantly, until incorporated, about 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in half and half and Parmesan, and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Stir in orzo and spinach until the spinach has wilted, about 3 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
