One-Pan Orzo with Spinach and Feta from @MysteryMacRae

 

When the world starts turning green and leafy do you suddenly find myself wanting to eat green, leafy things? I do. Here’s a bright green recipe from Melissa Clark at the New York Times. It’s quick, easy, and one of those recipes that let you tinker and play. Thank you, Melissa, for this spectacular dish.

 

One-Pan Orzo with Spinach and Feta

 

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 large scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced (I used the whole bundle of 6 my husband bought)

2 large garlic cloves, minced (We’re garlic hounds, so I used 3 and next time might use more)

8 ounces baby spinach leaves (8 cups), roughly chopped (We had a 10 ounce box and I dutifully left 2 ounces in it for something else. Next time I’ll use all 10 for this)

1 teaspoon kosher salt (I’ll use less next time. The feta added enough salt on its own, even with low-sodium bouillon)

1 ¾ cups low-sodium vegetable bouillon (or chicken)

1 cup orzo (according to reader comments on the recipe, rice is a good substitute)

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)

¾ cup crumbled feta (3 ounces), plus more for garnish

½ cup frozen peas, thawed

1 cup chopped fresh dill, parsley, or cilantro (I can’t wait to try this with dill. We didn’t have any, though, so I used cilantro)

 

Directions

In a 10-inch skillet (or larger), over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the garlic and most of the scallions (saving some of the green parts for garnish). Cook until softened, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes.

Stir in spinach, adding in batches if it won’t all fit in the pan at once, and ½ teaspoon of the salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is just wilted (less than 5 minutes).

Stir in bouillon, bring to a simmer, stir in orzo, lemon zest, and remaining ½ teaspoon of salt. Cover and simmer over medium-low until orzo is nearly cooked through and most of the liquid is absorbed, 10-14 minutes, stirring a few times.

Stir in cheese, peas, and dill, parsley, or cilantro. Cook for another minute to finish cooking the orzo and to warm the peas. Sprinkle with more cheese and reserved scallions, serve, and enjoy.

Argyles and Arsenic, book 5 in the Highland Bookshop Mystery series, is now available in paperback! Look for it wherever books are sold or ask for it at your public library.

 

About Argyles and Arsenic:

After 93 well-lived years, Violet MacAskill is ready to simplify her life. Her eccentric solution? She’ll throw a decanting and decluttering party at her family home—a Scottish Baronial manor near the seaside town of Inversgail, Scotland. Violet sets aside everything she wants or needs, then she invites her many friends in to sip sherry and help themselves to whatever they want from all that’s left.

But a murder during Violet’s party leads to a poisonous game of cat and mouse – with the women of Yon Bonnie Books playing to win.

 

Look for Molly’s new series—the Haunted Shell Shop Mysteries—coming in July 2024!

Book 1: Come Shell or High Water

 

The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes “murder with a dose of drollery.” She’s the author of the award-winning, national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries and the Highland Bookshop Mysteries. As Margaret Welch, she writes books for Annie’s Fiction. Her short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and she’s a winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest and connect with her on Twitter  or Instagram.