Orzo with White Beans, Tomatoes and Feta
and asparagus
Early summer flavors come together in this pasta dish that is great served warm or at room temperature as leftovers. We love the rainbow of colors that come from asparagus, tomato and lemon zest with rice-like orzo pasta as a base.
Ingredients
- Onions, small - 1/2 , chopped
- Garlic - 3 cloves , chopped
- Thyme, fresh - 2 stalks , leaves torn, stems discarded
- Pasta, orzo - 3/4 cup
- Tomatoes, cherry or grape - 1 cup , halved
- Beans, cannellini or butter (14 oz / 397 g) - 1 can , drained and rinsed
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
- Vinegar, balsamic - 1 Tbsp
- Cheese, feta - 3 oz , crumbled
- Asparagus - 1 lb , trimmed
- Oil, olive - 1 Tbsp
- Butter - 1 Tbsp
- Thyme, fresh - 4 stalks
- Lemon - 1/2 , zest of
Prep
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Onions / Garlic / Thyme (just the portion for the orzo) - Prep as directed. Store onions in one container and combine garlic and thyme in another. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
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Cook orzo - Bring a saucepan of water to boil. Salt generously and add orzo. Cook until al dente, tender but not soggy. Drain. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
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Asparagus - Trim asparagus. (Can be done up to 2 days ahead)
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Tomatoes - Slice tomatoes in half. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
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Beans - Drain and rinse.
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Make
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Heat a large skillet or frying panover medium-high heat and add cooking oil. To heated oil add onions and saute until soft, ~2 minutes. Add tomatoes with a pinch of salt and saute until tomatoes begin to caramelize in spots, 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and thyme leaves and saute until fragrant, ~1 minute more. Stir in beans and orzo and cook until everything is warmed through. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar. Transfer to a serving plate. Wipe out skillet and return to heat.
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To hot pan add olive oil and thyme sprigs. Cook until thyme becomes fragrant, ~2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add butter and asparagus with a pinch of salt. Cook, turning asparagus every couple minutes until asparagus is cooked through, 6 to 10 minutes (depending on thickness of spears). Zest lemon over asparagus.
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Crumble feta over orzo just before serving. Serve orzo with asparagus on the side and enjoy!
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