Today has been one of the windiest days I’ve witnessed in quite a while. Our new house has old chimneys with wood burners in almost every room and the wind has been whistling down them all day. Maybe this inspired me, or maybe I just love a good carb, but I couldn’t resist making this recipe.
For me, Orzo is the most comforting pasta. It’s like perfectly cooked, slightly slippery rice in texture and it just SUCKS up sauce. That’s why I had to Make the stunningly creamy ragout to go with it. It doesn’t use any stock – just a super tasty mire poix.
The panko is super crunchy and the basil oil is sharp and bright. It’s the perfect windy day dish.
Makes three good bowls of pasta.
Servings: 3
Ingredients
For the Basil Oil
- 20 g fresh basil stalks and all
- 1 small clove garlic
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
For the Ragout
- 1 tin borlotti beans drained
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small red onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds roughly ground in a mortar and pestle
- 1/2 small fennel bulb sliced into 2mm crescents on a mandolin
- 2 white carrots or 1/4 of a celeriac thinly sliced on the diagonal into cm pieces
- 1 tsp maldon salt
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp white miso
For the Orzo
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 200 g Orzo pasta
For the Panko
- 3 tbsp panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
To Make the Basil Oil
- Place all ingredients in a high speed blender and blitz until smooth. Set aside.
- Nb. You can either strain out the basil or leave it in. For this recipe, I keep it in.
To Make the Ragout
- Drain the tin of borlotti beans and set aside.
- In a large Dutch oven (or a cast iron ovenproof saucepan with a liover medium low heat, add the crushed fennel seeds and toast until fragrant. Add the 2 tbsp olive oil along with the garlic, onion, fennel and carrots. Stir and then cover and leave to cook, stirring occasionally, for around 7 minutes. The vegetables shouldn’t brown very much, so keep your heat low.
- Preheat the oven to 200c.
- Add the remaining ragout ingredients and stir, along with the borlotti beans. Remove from the heat.
- Remove around half a cup of the bean/veg mix and blend until smooth with a stick blender. Return the blended mix back to the pan and pop the lid on. Put the pan in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
To Make the Orzo
- Bring a medium pan of water to the boil and add the salt.
- Add the Orzo to the pan and boil for around 8 minutes, or until cooked and al dente. Once cooked, drain.
To Make the Panko
- In a small frying pan, add the olive oil. Bring to a medium high heat and add the panko. Stirring constantly, allow the panko to turn golden brown. Remove from the pan as soon as the panko is done.
- Once the ragout is cooked and bubbling nicely, stir in the orzo. Serve with a drizzle of the basil oil and a sprinkle of the panko.
Tried this recipe?Mention @schoolnightvegan or tag #schoolnightvegan!
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