Molly Baz’s Orzo al Limone

I purchased Molly Baz’s new book Cook This Book and this was the first recipe I made from it. It’s delicious and easy, and what made it even better was that Molly Baz herself walked me through how to make it virtually because I purchased her book! Someone during the virtual class asked her what she paired this with, implying it was a side, and Molly’s response was perhaps a steak but that she thought this could be treated as a meal all on its own similar to how you’d treat mac n cheese. So I served it up after the class around 3pm and ate it on its own for a late lunch and it was amazing! The recipe calls for a lemon three ways and the dish is very lemon-forward because of this (fitting since it has ‘al Limone’ in the title) - you then pair the lemon with lots of butter, Parmesan cheese, a yellow onion, and freshly cracked pepper. All in all, a very easy, affordable, and yuuuummy meal!

If you’re new to cooking, I highly recommend this cook book. Molly was really thoughtful in how it was written and laid out. In the beginning before even getting to recipes, she outlines her favorite kitchen equipment and pantry staples. In the recipes, the ingredients are broken down into groups like produce, dairy, and pantry. There’s sub-steps in the directions making it easy to follow. AND she made QR codes throughout the whole book that you can scan with your phone and videos pop up of her demoing the things she asks you to do in the directions. In the Orzo al Limone recipe, the first step is to finely chop the onion. Sure, anyone with a knife and an onion can create a finely chopped onion eventually - but that particular QR code shows Molly actually finely dicing an onion and breaks it down in an easy to follow way so you can finely dice it in less than a minute and it’s perfect and uniform.

RECIPE - yields 4 servings
TIME - 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium yellow onion

• 1 lemon

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used salted and it turned out fine!)

• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish (I used closer to 1 cup in mine)

• 1 cup orzo

• Salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

• Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

DIRECTIONS

1. Prep your aromatics:

   • Finely dice yellow onion and set aside.

   • Using a vegetable peeler, peel 3 (3-inch long) strips of lemon zest from 1 lemon and set aside.

2. Start the orzo:

   • In a large Dutch oven or pot, heat 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat until melted and foamy.

   • Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until softened but not yet browned, 5 to 7 minutes.

   • Add 1 cup orzo, the 3 strips of lemon zest, and 1 teaspoon freshly crack black pepper and toast, stirring, for 2 minutes.

   • Stir in 2-2.5 cups water (the recipe calls for all 3 but in the class she left some and added it in later as needed) and 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Once the water comes to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally so the orzo doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot, until most of the water has been absorbed (there should still be some liquid at the bottom of the pot), 6 to 8 minutes. Taste the orzo; it should be al dente but not crunchy.

3. Finish the orzo:

   • Remove the pot from heat. Stir in 2 tablespoons butter and Parmesan cheese.

   • Finely grate the remaining zest of the lemon into the pot. Cut the lemon and half and squeeze the juice of both halves into the orzo. Taste and add more salt as needed. Add a few more tablespoons of water, if needed, until it’s very creamy and loose.

4. Serve:

   • Drizzle the orzo with olive oil and season with black pepper and more grated Parmesan.