This One-Pot Pasta Has 15,000+ Reviews and a Five-Star Rating | Melissa Clark | NYT Cooking

Here’s the FREE recipe for Melissa’s One-Pan Orzo With Spinach and Feta: https://nyti.ms/4f2VcoS

Similar to spanakorizo, a Greek spinach and rice dish, this easy, meatless meal from Melissa Clark features orzo, spinach, peas and scallions. It’s deeply satisfying but still on the lighter side thanks to all those vegetables. A little feta gives it creaminess and tang, while some lemon zest brightens everything up. And, if you needed any more convincing, more than 15,000 subscribers gave it five stars, so you know it’s a keeper.

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“Season as you go. That’s one of those things
that you learn in school — or somewhere. You learn it somewhere. Maybe you learn it
on the internet. But season as you go.” [RELAXING MUSIC] “Hi. I’m Melissa Clark, and I’m
a food reporter for ‘The New York Times.’ And we are here
at the NYT cooking kitchen studio to make orzo
with spinach and feta. The inspiration
behind this dish was the flavors of a
spanakopita, the Greek flavors of spinach and feta cheese. It’s also very similar to
a Greek rice dish called spanakorizo, except
that instead of rice, we’re using orzo because orzo
is one of those pastas that just takes on flavor. I’m doing it all in one pan. And I love a one-pan recipe
because I don’t love washing pans. This is the kind of thing
you’re going to make on repeat. So we’re going to build
flavor from the bottom up. So we’re going to
start with butter. You could use olive oil, which
would be great in this too. Butter will just make it
slightly bit more creamy, which I love. I’m going to get the garlic
and the scallions sauteed. And this is building
flavor for the sauce. And I want to soften them. And I want to get them
a little bit golden. It’s already starting
to turn a little brown. So now I’m going
to add my spinach. And I’m going to just wilt it
in the pan handful by handful, so just want to throw it in. And then as it wilts,
it’s going to make room. And then you add
the next handful, until it’s all wilted. This looks like
a lot of spinach. And it is a lot of spinach. So you don’t need
any extra vegetables. You’ve got it all right here. I’m going to add about a 1/2
teaspoon of salt right now. And then I’m going
to add more later. O.K. Look. See, it’s just
melting right down. I used baby spinach here
because it just really melts very easily. If you use mature spinach,
it might take an extra minute or two because it’s
a little bit thicker. I’m going to add some stock. You can use chicken
stock, vegetable stock, any kind of stock. And I’m going to let the stock
come to a simmer before adding the orzo. O.K. See how it’s starting
to simmer around the edges? I’m going to add the
orzo, some lemon zest, which is great. It really gives
a bright flavor. And I love lemon zest — and then another 1/2
teaspoon of salt. After it’s well combined, I’m
going to cover it and let it just cook until
the orzo’s done, which takes anywhere
from 10 to 15 minutes. You see how most of
the liquid is absorbed. It is about one minute
shy of being perfect, which is exactly
how I want it, because I want to add the
feta cheese and the peas and then let the cheese get
kind of melty and the peas warm up. And the orzo will
finish cooking. So herbs — parsley,
basil, mint, cilantro. Dill would be great. Dill would keep with
the Greek theme. Some people don’t like
an entire cup of mint. I don’t know why. But if you are one of them,
use your favorite herb here, because you’re
using a lot of it. I have crumbled feta
and more scallion. And the reason I’m going
to put that on top instead of mixing it in is,
I want that fresh, salty pop of this feta. The rest of it is almost like
a creamy sauce for the orzo. And then this is going to
be like bright, fresh pops. And the same thing
with the scallion — it’s just going to add
brightness and crisp texture. The feta is mostly melted. There’s still some
chunks, which is good. Look how green that is. It’s just so full of spinach. Fork or spoon, which is
the best way to eat orzo? This sort of makes
it seem cozier. This is maybe more fancy. I don’t know. I think I’m going
to go for cozy. Mm. I talked a lot
about the scallions, the garlic, the spinach. But I feel like I didn’t pay
enough attention to the peas when I was introducing this. The peas are so good. They add this little
just burst of sweetness. And then you’ve got the feta,
which is creamy and salty. It’s just a really good dish. It’s really easy. It’s super satisfying. And you can eat it
with a spoon or a fork. You can find this
recipe and about a gazillion others
at nytcooking.com. Or click the link below — below — below this.” [UPBEAT MUSIC]