1 bunch asparagus, sliced into pea-sized morsels with tips whole
1 cup orzo
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1-2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil, more to taste
¼-½ cup chopped dill
½-¾ cups Parmesan cheese, grated
juice from ½ a lemon, more to taste
sprinkle kosher salt
sprinkle black pepper
lemon zest
Takes ,
serves 2-4.
Instructions
Prepare pasta: Fill a medium-sized pot half full with water. Add salt and bring to a boil. Add orzo, reduce to moderate-low heat and cook for 5 minutes or until pasta is al dente.
Add vegetables: Strain orzo and immediately return it to the pot. Add the asparagus, garlic and butter and stir to combine. Cover and leave pot to sit for 5 minutes.
Finish: Add the dill, Parmesan cheese and lemon juice and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl, add fresh lemon zest and serve immediately.
Lemony Orzo with Asparagus
Ingredients
1 bunch asparagus, sliced into pea-sized morsels with tips whole
1 cup orzo
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1-2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil, more to taste
¼-½ cup chopped dill
½-¾ cups Parmesan cheese, grated
juice from ½ a lemon, more to taste
sprinkle kosher salt
sprinkle black pepper
lemon zest
Directions
Prepare pasta: Fill a medium-sized pot half full with water. Add salt and bring to a boil. Add orzo, reduce to moderate-low heat and cook for 5 minutes or until pasta is al dente.
Add vegetables: Strain orzo and immediately return it to the pot. Add the asparagus, garlic and butter and stir to combine. Cover and leave pot to sit for 5 minutes.
Finish: Add the dill, Parmesan cheese and lemon juice and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl, add fresh lemon zest and serve immediately.
Lemony Orzo with Asparagus
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Orzo and asparagus tossed with garlic, butter and lemon, finished with dill and freshly grated Parmesan…
Our LEMONY ORZO WITH ASPARAGUS makes the perfect light meal or a sensational side.
Spoiler alert! Here’s the pitch on this must-make dish;
Cook the orzo for five minutes.
Prep the remaining ingredients while the pasta cooks.
Stir the asparagus, garlic, and butter in with the pasta right after you drain it.
Cover and leave the pot undisturbed for five minutes.
Add the dill, Parmesan, and fresh lemon juice, then stir, season, and serve.
Now, although I know some of you are going to be able to make this based on the above, there are a few more things I’ll like to detail.
Before that though, a friendly reminder to PIN this recipe to a favourite pasta or side dish board. We’d also love you to SHARE the recipe with friends. The way we see it, everyone should try this tasty recipe.
Here are a few additional things to consider when you go to make this LEMONY ORZO WITH ASPARAGUS:
A simple gathering of springtime ingredients to craft this orzo pasta dish.
ASPARAGUS
I’ve always been captivated by this favourite springtime vegetable – click HERE to learn more about this herbaceous perennial plant. We have lots of recipes that put fresh asparagus to good use. I’ve loaded three of our most popular ones at the bottom of this post in the related recipe section.
Make sure to leave the very tips of the asparagus whole; they’re so pretty for presentation.
Prepping the asparagus for this recipe is super straightforward. Simply trim away the bottoms, then cut the stalks into tiny morsels, about the size of peas. Make sure to leave the very tips whole; they’re so pretty for presentation. The above photo should help you or watch this VIDEO for reference.
Also known as risoni, this easy to cook pasta is ready in just 5 minutes!
ORZO PASTA
Something that often comes to mind while crafting this recipe is that I need to cook more with orzo. Last time I used it was in this WILD RICE AND ORZO SALAD. Also known as risoni, orzo is a form of short-cut pasta shaped like a large grain of rice. It gets top marks for ease of preparation – we’re talking a time-saving five-minute cook time for pasta with that ideal al dente tenderness. It helps make this recipe dead easy. Also worth mentioning is that you can get gluten-free and whole wheat versions too.
When it comes to these three flavourful ingredients, add more!
LEMON, GARLIC, AND DILL
There’s something so fresh tasting about this trio of ingredients. That said, if you’re not a lover of dill, try the recipe with parsley or fresh basil, and yes, the recipe does work with olive oil if you’d rather skip the butter. Having now made it a number of times, I strongly suggest you go with increasing the quantities to taste. So where I list one or two cloves of garlic, add two, maybe three! Same with the freshly chopped dill and lemon juice. A good rule of thumb; more is more!
Make sure to serve extra Parmesan on the side for the cheese lovers in your crowd.
PARMESAN CHEESE
Adding Parmesan to this dish just kind of made sense. A simple pasta with garlic and butter always welcomes this superior hard, salty cheese, but mixing it up with dill and asparagus is simply sublime. Same as above, add more cheese to the pot to suit your taste.
This orzo side dish is bursting with fresh flavours.
WAITING GAME
The last little helpful hint with this recipe is to explain the process. The idea here was to create a simple dish where the asparagus didn’t get overcooked and still has a bit of crunch. This is achieved by placing the asparagus, garlic, and butter into the pot with the still-hot freshly drained orzo. Leaving the mix to sit in a covered pot for five minutes does the trick. The pasta is just hot enough to tenderize the garlic and asparagus.
The quantity is just the right size for a light lunch, for two!
SERVE
Frequent visitors to WATC know we love giving you options. In this case, you can serve our LEMONY ORZO WITH ASPARAGUS as a light meal by simply dividing the contents of the pot into two bowls, maybe adding a bit more Parmesan and a pass of fresh lemon zest (highly recommended!). There you have a perfect light lunch for two.
Serve it as you would a pasta salad.
Perhaps a better option is to think of it as you do a salad; serve it confidently as a springtime side that goes with everything! I’ve had it with our OVEN-BAKED SALMON, our EASY GRILLED PORK CHOPS, a BARBECUED SHRIMP, and this ROASTED CHICKEN. This recipe will yield enough side portions for four guests. Need more? Simply double the recipe.
Cook it in five, wait for five, then taste it and give this LEMONY ORZO WITH ASPARAGUS a 10 outta 10!
Cook Mode Use cook mode to keep your screen on while cooking.
Ingredients
1 bunch asparagus, sliced into pea-sized morsels with tips whole
1 cup orzo
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1-2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil, more to taste
¼-½ cup chopped dill
½-¾ cups Parmesan cheese, grated
juice from ½ a lemon, more to taste
sprinkle kosher salt
sprinkle black pepper
lemon zest
Directions
Prepare pasta: Fill a medium-sized pot half full with water. Add salt and bring to a boil. Add orzo, reduce to moderate-low heat and cook for 5 minutes or until pasta is al dente.
Add vegetables: Strain orzo and immediately return it to the pot. Add the asparagus, garlic and butter and stir to combine. Cover and leave pot to sit for 5 minutes.
Finish: Add the dill, Parmesan cheese and lemon juice and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl, add fresh lemon zest and serve immediately.
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