Asparagus, Pea and Lemon Orzotto
A spring-like, comforting orzo dish tossed with a coarse pea and pumpkin seed pesto and topped with griddled asparagus.
Ingredients
- sea salt flakes
- 360g orzo
- 400g asparagus
- 100ml olive oil, plus 2 tbsp extra for the asparagus
- 360g podded fresh or frozen peas
- 100g pumpkin seeds
- 100g parmesan, grated
- 1 lemon, juiced
Instructions
- Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil, then tip in the orzo and cook for 8 minutes, or until cooked through but still a bit al dente. Drain well, and reserve a mugful of the cooking water.
- Meanwhile, set a griddle pan on high heat. Toss the asparagus with the extra oil to coat, then grill for 2 minutes on each side (in batches if needed). Transfer to a plate and scatter with sea salt flakes.
- Blanch the peas by tipping them into a bowl of boiling water and leaving to steep for 2 minutes (3 if frozen), then drain well.
- Tip the peas into a food processor, add the 100ml oil, the pumpkin seeds and the grated parmesan, and blitz to a coarse paste.
- Stir three-quarters of the pea pesto through the drained orzo, adding a couple of tablespoons of the reserved pasta water to loosen if needed.
- Taste and add lemon juice and salt as needed.
- Divide the orzo between warmed shallow bowls, top with the remaining pea pesto and the griddled asparagus, and serve at once.