It’s summertime and pretty much every weekend meal at our house involves grilling. While my husband does the grilling, I usually just want to chill on the back patio with a glass of wine! So I try and keep things simple by making sure my side dishes are super easy: sauteed veges or a quick salad. When we’re grilling meat or fish, one of my go-to side dishes is this mushroom orzo because it comes together in a snap.
Everyone loves this recipe – kids and adults. Probably because it’s almost like mac and cheese but with an adult twist, and no need to turn on the oven! I love how the plump orzo and chewy mushrooms come together in every bite and I usually end up taking one too many taste tests before serving. I especially like to serve this mushroom orzo with grilled cajun-spiced salmon because the mildness of the dish nicely offsets the spiciness of the fish. I make this in the winter too, sometimes substituting spinach or squash for the mushroom, and feta for the parmesan. Voila, summer side dish becomes winter comfort food!
Mushroom Orzo
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and saute the mushrooms until lightly browned.
- Add orzo and garlic and saute for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Deglaze with white wine and stir until almost evaporated.
- Add broth and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 10 minutes until the orzo is cooked and the broth is absorbed.
- Stir in parmesan and garnish with parsley.
Jan Oden
Delicious!! Altered the recipe slightly since I don’t have mushroom lovers here (Dave and I yes! Julia and Dylan no …but very easy to adjust)
Neena
That’s great that you changed it up a bit. It would be very easy to make a meal of it by adding a protein.
Jan Oden
It was so tasty with some grilled organic chicken and some shallots…yummmm
Lindsay
This is a must. What type of white wine do you like to use?
Neena
Any white wine that’s not sweet and slightly acidic would work – like sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio…