COOK: Orzo with White Bean, Preserved Lemon & Radish
- White Bean Orzo One-Pot Meal Ingredients
- Equipment & Method for White Bean Orzo
- More Quick Dinner Ideas:
This white bean orzo makes hearty one-pot supper, flavored with piquant salted lemon pickle, and crisp radish. For a more substantial meal, you can add roasted chicken, or keep it plain for a vegetarian main dish or rich and simple side dish. It comes together quickly, and you can have dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less!
White Bean Orzo One-Pot Meal Ingredients
Chicken or Vegetable Stock:
Good flavored commercial or homemade stock or broth. Use vegetable stock for a vegetarian version, or either if you are including roasted chicken. A tablespoon of good quality chicken or vegetable base added to this gives even more depth of flavor.
Orzo Pasta:
Orzo is a small pasta shaped like large grains of rice. It cooks quickly, and makes a dish with a creamy risotto-like texture.
Fresh Radishes with Green Tops (or other greens):
Fresh Radishes with Green Tops (or other greens):I wrote this recipe to use fresh radishes, bought in bundles with the tops on, or fresh from the garden. If you can’t find radishes with the tops on, you can use any bitter and tender greens, like arugula, escarole, or even spinach for a milder version. Radish greens have a tendency to be gritty or sandy, so make sure you soak and wash them well before chopping them for this recipe.
Preserved Lemon:
Salt-pickled lemon, either Meyer or regular lemon pickles will do. If you don’t have any preserved lemon, you can substitute the zest from one lemon and a tablespoon or two of fresh lemon juice, plus some capers or briny green or kalamata olives to approximate the tang of pickled lemons.
White Beans:
Drained canned white or cannelloni beans, or soaked and cooked dried beans. You can use navy beans, regular white beans, or the larger and meatier Italian cannelloni beans, cooked to tender, or commercially or homemade canned beans.
Alliums:
Half of a large onion, small diced (or minced, if you need to disguise it for picky eaters), is sauteed in a bit of olive oil or butter to start building the flavor for this dish. Once it begins to take on a bit of color, add three large minced cloves of garlic and saute just until fragrant.
Equipment & Method for White Bean Orzo
Wide Pot with Lid:
One and a half or two quart pot with a well-fitting lid and a heavy bottom.
Heat Resistant Spatula or Wooden Spoon:
Stir the orzo periodically while it cooks so it doesn’t scorch or stick on the bottom of the pot.
Orzo with White Bean, Preserved Lemon, & Radish
Ingredients
- 2-4 tbsp olive oil or butter
- ½ large onion minced or small dice
- 3 large garlic cloves chopped
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 cups dry orzo pasta
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp dried rosemary
- 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 tbsp chicken or vegetable base
- 1½ cups radish greens, washed and chopped (substitute arugula or other tender bitter greens)
- 1 cup cooked white beans (one can, drained)
- ¼ cup preserved Meyer lemon peel minced or chopped fine
- 1½ cups diced rotisserie or roasted chicken (optional)
- ½ cup thinly sliced or diced fresh radish
- to taste salt and pepper
Instructions
- Wash and prepare the radishes and tops or greens, and prep the onion and garlic. Mince the preserved lemon peel. Dissolve the chicken or veggie base in the stock.
- Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil or butter in the pan, and saute the chopped onion with a pinch of salt until it begins to take on some color. Add the freshly ground black pepper, coriander and garlic and saute for another minute or two.
- Add the dry orzo to the pot and toast it for a few minutes, along with the dried herbs and preserved lemon. Add the stock and base to the pot, cover, and bring up to a simmer over medium low heat.
- Add the chopped greens and white beans to the pot and fold them in, stirring periodically and recovering the pot. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the orzo is cooked through and the mixture is thick and creamy.
- If you're adding diced cooked chicken, fold that in now, and then top the pot with the diced or thinly sliced raw radishes. You can also simmer the radishes lightly with the orzo if you want a milder flavor and less crunch, though the color may bleed a bit.
- Serve warm. This is also good cold the next day, or on a bed of crisp greens as a hearty lunch salad.
