This green vegetable orzo risotto is the ultimate quick meal for all times of year It’s fresh and fragrant, ideal for spring, but it’s still hearty and warming enough to serve as a cosy winter meal.
As well as being full of vegetables and loaded with micronutrients, this dish is ready in just 20 minutes, so it’s a perfect quick and healthy dish for anyone with a busy schedule.
This was one of the first dishes I made for this year’s May series, and it’s my most remade too. If you try anything new this month – make it this one.
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
This recipe serves two to three, depending on whether this is lunch or dinner and general appetite. Two servings per recipe provides 712 calories, 24g of protein and 13g of fibre. Three servings per recipe provides 475 calories, 16g of protein and just under 9g of fibre.
The following vitamin information is based on three servings per recipe. Each serving contains your full daily amount of vitamin K, 40% of your daily vitamin C and 25% of your daily folate along with 4mg of iron.
INGREDIENT CHOICES AND SUBSTITUTIONS
So, this ‘orzo risotto’ isn’t actually made with orzo at all. I make this dish with chickpea rice, which has the same texture as chickpea pasta, which given the shape of the rice, is identical to orzo. I highly recommend you try it with the chickpea ‘rice’ to add some protein, but if you can’t get your hands on any or it’s not for you, you can make this dish with orzo – gluten free or otherwise. Just double check the cooking times if you’re using an alternative to ensure it has enough time to cook in the sauce.
If you want a lower calorie/ healthier option, you can swap the cream for the same volume of any non-dairy milk of your choosing. I make this with hazelnut or almond milk all the time and it’s still delicious, albeit less rich.
I’ve only ever made the sauce with spinach, but there’s no reason why you couldn’t use kale or an alternative leafy green to use up whatever you have in the house.
HOW TO STORE, KEEP AND REHEAT
This dish will only keep for up to two days in the fridge after making. to reheat, microwave for roughly four minutes until hot again.
PEA & BASIL ORZO RISOTTO RECIPE
Fresh and flavourful orzo risotto recipe made with chickpea rice for added protein and ready in less than 20 minutes.
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, soy free*, nut free* and vegan friendly. *Depending on your choice of dairy alternatives.
Pea & Basil Orzo Risotto Recipe
Fresh and flavourful orzo risotto recipe made with chickpea rice for added protein and ready in less than 20 minutes.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword Orzo Risotto
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 3
Calories 475 kcal
Ingredients
- 1 leek thinly sliced
- 1 brown onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 150 g chickpea rice
- 80 g spinach
- 200 ml vegan cream
- 1 ½ heaped tbsp basil pesto
- 200 ml vegetable stock
- 20 g fresh basil
- 1 cup frozen peas
- Juice of half a lime
Instructions
- Heat a large frying pan on low medium heat. Add the oil, once the oil is hot, add the onion and garlic and cook for roughly 3 minutes. Add the leek, then and cook for a further few minutes.
- While the vegetables are cooking, add all of the sauce ingredients to a blender and mix until smooth. Once blended, add the chickpea rice, blended sauce mix and the vegetable stock. Cook for 12 minutes until the chickpea rice is cooked. After 6/7 minutes stir in the fresh basil and frozen peas. Stir to combine and cook for the final 5ish minutes.
- Add the juice of half a lime and stir before serving.
