Creamy cheese and spinach orzotto

 

I had the idea of making this when I was just going to do some orzo to go with chicken but was thinking I could make it as a one pot dish too.  It's really easy to make as you don't need to add the stock ladle by ladle as you do in a risotto you add it all together but you do need to keep an eye on it and stir it regularly.

If you haven't heard of orzo it's a type of pasta (you'll find it by the pasta in supermarkets) but it is shaped so it looks like grains of rice. It makes a nice change from the usual rice or potatoes and it's only about £1 a bag so very economical.

As I was serving this with chicken I used chicken stock but vegetable stock is fine and then it would be completely vegetarian too.  The spinach I used was frozen leaf spinach but you could use a bag of baby spinach if you prefer.

Creamy cheese and spinach orzotto

250g orzo

500ml vegetable or chicken stock (I use stockpots)

1 onion (peeled and chopped)

1 clove garlic (crushed)

2 tsp butter

4 cubes frozen leaf spinach (defrosted) or a bag of fresh baby spinach

150g strong cheddar (grated) 

Place a medium size saucepan over a low to medium heat and put the butter in to melt. Once melted add the chopped onion and fry gently until soft then add the crushed garlic and fry for another minute or so then you can put in the orzo and give it a good stir. 

Pour in the stock all in one go and bring to a simmer, Leave to simmer gently and let the orzo absorb the stock but stir frequently and keep the heat to medium so it's just a gentle bubble. 

Once the stock has almost all absorbed add the spinach and cheese and stir until all melted together. There is probably no need to add salt due to the stock and cheese but I like to add freshly ground black pepper. 

Serves two as a main dish but four as a side dish.