Creamy Mushroom Asparagus Orzo
This creamy mushroom asparagus orzo is incredibly flavourful and it cooks up in about 30 minutes! A base of leeks and garlic gets a punchy boost from capers, nutritional yeast, saffron, miso, grainy mustard, and lemon. Naturally vegan and easily made gluten-free with GF orzo pasta.
Long time, no post! Without getting into it too much, I just needed a break from a few things. Even in challenging times, we all need to eat and find nourishment in a variety of ways to keep ourselves going. Reminding myself of that simple truth has helped me get back into the swing of things again. It’s nice to be here sharing a delicious and undeniably Spring-y supper with you. I hope that you’ve been keeping well and taking care :)
This recipe has so many things that I love. The ingredient list looks long, but there’s a lot of pantry-friendly things in there. Mushrooms and asparagus are simply sautéed and set aside while we make the orzo. The base there is leeks (so underrated!), garlic, vegetable stock, and non-dairy cream. The best thing about this recipe is the “flavour shot” that we add at the end that’s comprised of lemon juice, miso and Dijon mustard. I think it might be a certified pro move, and I’ll be copying it into future recipes for sure.
Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons light miso
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
- ⅓ lb (151 grams) asparagus, trimmed and chopped into 2-inch pieces
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ lb (227 grams) cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 large leek (light green and white part only), halved and chopped (about 1 ½ cups chopped leeks total)
- 1 tablespoon capers, minced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- ¼ teaspoon dried ground chillies or chili flakes (optional)
- 1 cup dry orzo pasta
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy cream (see notes)
- ¼ teaspoon saffron threads
- ½ cup frozen peas
- ¼ cup chopped fresh dill
- vegan "parmesan" for serving (optional)