CREAMY SPINACH & ORZO
Yield:
10
Ingredients
- 1 pound orzo pasta + 3 teaspoons salt and a little olive oil
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 3 cups whole milk
- 2 cups pasta water
- 4 cups chopped baby spinach
- 3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons dried dill
- 1 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 cups (or more) shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Another super easy and quick dish to prepare! This recipe is great served family style and is guaranteed to please a large crowd. Serve it as is or with your favorite grilled meat or fish.
- I made this for my "Date Night" themed cooking class and served it with chicken breast stuffed with roasted red peppers and feta dip. It was a big hit 🙂
- Note* Make the sauce as the pasta is cooking or before. The pasta should not sit in the strainer after it drains. It should go directly in the sauce. This will prevent the pasta from becoming one big massive clump of orzo. Also, the orzo will cook and absorb flavor from the sauce for a couple of minutes and will become delicious 🙂
- Bring water to a boil and add 3 teaspoons of salt, about 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the pound of orzo pasta. Boil it for 6 minutes.
- In another pot, heat the olive oil and chopped garlic over medium heat. Cook the garlic until golden. Do not let it turn brown!!
- Add flour and whisk it well. Cook it for 2-3 minutes.
- Add 3 cups of whole milk, 2 cups of the pasta water and the seasonings. Cook until slightly thickened. Add chopped spinach and pasta.
- Mix well and taste it to see if it needs more salt and pepper. Cook it for 2-3 minutes.
- Pour it into a nice platter and sprinkle mozzarella chees on top and some dried oregano. Mix well and serve immediately.
- Enjoy 🙂
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