Creamy Orzo and Beans
This recipe seems long and complicated but it really isn’t. I have hacked up Justine Doiron’s original recipe which prioritized using dried butter beans but I used my reliable canned cannellini beans which go great with pasta.
I will summarize thusly:
- Cut up an onion, some garlic, add some herbs and spices, sauté them up in a big ol’ pot.
- Once the onions have softened, add a can of beans (I like white kidney beans).
- Add sufficient water to cook the pasta (4-5 cups, I’d start with 4 and reserve a cup if you’d like more liquid).
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to gentle boil, Now add your orzo pasta (that’s the one that looks kind of like rice - about 325 grams-ish, a bit more than 1-1/2 cups).
While that’s cooking, prep your greens:
- use baby kale or similar for quicker cook times, remove the stems, cut or tear into smaller pieces.
- Thinly slice some shallots.
- Finely dice some garlic.
- Sauté the shallots and garlic in olive oil in a pan you can move to the oven.
- Once the shallots have softened add the kale, then add the oil, vinegar, lemon and honey mix (it’s basically like a salad dressing).
- Put on a lid and in a few minutes the greens would begin to wilt.
- Move the pan to the oven, broil for a few minutes or until the greens just start to crisp.
- By this time your orzo is probably done, and the whole beans and orzo mix should be creamy, if it needs more water, add it, but if the pasta is done to your liking you can remove it from the heat.
- Add a splash of lemon juice
- Remove the greens from the oven.
- Serve up the pasta and beans, top with the greens, then top that with grated parmesan and serve.
Now I get that this isn’t enough to make the damn thing but I just wanted to illustrate that while this looks like a long complicated recipe, I realized by the end of making it, just how simple it was. Below is the original recipe which you can find here:
Creamy Orzo and Beans
This recipe can be made with dried or canned beans, making it super versatile and ready for any occasion.
For the beans:
- One 15 to 19 Oz can of Cannellini beans, aka white kidney beans (ed. or for the insane: 1 & 1/2 cups dried large white lima beans)
- 1 small yellow onion, peeled and halved (I diced it. Why put in a whole onion only to remove it?)
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed
- 3 small sprigs of rosemary
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp kosher salt, plus more as needed
- 12 ounces orzo (about 325 grams-ish, a bit more than 1-1/2 cups)
Ingredients for the crispy kale:
- 3 medium shallots.
- 2 cloves garlic.
- 4-5 cups kale.
- 1/2 lemon for juicing.
- 1 tbsp honey or date syrup.
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar.
- 1 tbsp olive oil.
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste.
- For finishing: 1/2 lemon for juicing, 2-3 ounces freshly grated parmesan
If using dried beans and if possible, soak your beans for six hours or up to overnight (ed. See what I mean? Are you crazy?). The longer the soak, the quicker your beans will cook!
In a large dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, add the onion, garlic, rosemary, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, and olive oil. Drain the beans and add them to the pot.
If you are using canned beans, simply rinse and dry your beans. Add them to the dutch oven with the onion, garlic, rosemary, red pepper flakes, bay leaves and olive oil. Pour in about 5 cups of water. Bring this to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes, season liberally with salt, and then remove the aromatics. At this point you can start your greens. Add the orzo into the pot, bring this to a soft boil and cook the orzo for 8 minutes or a few minutes longer depending on the orzo you’re using, adding water if needed. When the orzo is finished cooking, take the dutch oven off the heat and add a squeeze of lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper as desired.
This recipe is all about timing, so after the beans have had a few minutes to get going, start the kale.
This is how to make the crispy greens:
- Thinly slice the shallots and finely grate the garlic.
- Tear the kale into small pieces.
- Whisk together the honey, lemon juice and red wine vinegar in a small bowl.
- Season with a generous pinch of salt and a lot of cracks of black pepper.
- Put a sauté pan on medium heat.
- Add the olive oil and let it heat up.
- Add in the shallots and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until they have softened.
- Add in the garlic and cook an additional 1-2 minutes.
- Add in the kale, give it a stir and pour in the honey and vinegar mixture.
- Stir to coat.
- Let the kale wilt a bit, then turn off the heat and cover the pan.
- Remove the lid, turn your oven broiler on high and move your sauté pan to the oven.
- Let it broil for 5 minutes or until the kale crisps at the edges and darkens slightly.
If you’re in a pinch, or simply don’t prefer any of the ingredients in this recipe, the good part is that it is highly adaptable. Here are the most common ingredients in the recipe, and where you can make certain substitutions:
- Can’t find white lima beans? Any bean will work in this recipe, feel free to go bean-wild!
- Don’t love orzo? Short grain white rice, quick-cooking farro, orecchiette, or any short pasta shape will be a great sub!
- Not a fan of rosemary? – sub out the rosemary for a parmesan rind, or if you’re vegan, some thyme also adds some really nice depth!
- What to substitute for shallots – red onion is always a great sub, or if you have an extra yellow onion, that can also do the trick!
- Kale substitutions – any hearty green will be a great substitute for kale. Think: dandelion greens, swiss chard, collard greens.
Ed. note: I’ve noticed a trend in a lot of recipes of cutting an onion in half or adding whole garlic cloves, cooking them in a broth, then removing them at the end. I get it, but why not just cut ‘em up and leave them in. It’s fine, do as you like, but I like cooked onions.