Creamy mushroom and chestnut orzo
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- 30 mins to 1 hour
- Serve
- Serves 4
- Dietary
- Egg-free
A silky winter pasta dish with double the chestnut flavour. Tender orzo is simmered in stock and folded with mushrooms, cream, Parmesan and chestnuts, then finished with a crunchy chestnut and herb topping. Comforting, nutty and festive.
For this recipe you will need a food processor.
Each serving provides 527 kcal, 15.1g protein, 49.7g carbohydrate (of which 8g sugars), 28.3g fat (of which 12.9g saturates), 4.8g fibre and 1.34g salt.
By Verity Genco
Ingredients
For the chestnut crumb
For the orzo
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 25g/1oz butter
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 250g/9oz chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped
- 80g/2¾oz cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped
- 300g/10½oz orzo
- 750ml/26fl oz hot vegetable or chicken stock
- 70ml/2½fl oz double cream
- 50g/1¾oz Parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 20g/1oz flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Method
For the chestnut crumb, pulse the chestnuts, bread and rosemary or thyme to coarse crumbs in a food processor.
Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, add the chestnut mixture with a pinch of salt. Cook for 4–5 minutes, stirring often, until golden and crisp. Stir through the grated Parmesan and set aside.
Heat the olive oil and butter in a large, deep frying pan or sauté pan on a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, or until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook for a further minute.
Increase the heat, add the mushrooms and cook for 6–8 minutes until softened and any liquid has evaporated. Stir in the chestnuts.
Add the orzo and stir to coat in the buttery mushrooms. Pour in the hot stock and bring to a simmer. Cook for 12–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the orzo is tender and most of the stock has been absorbed.
Stir in the cream, Parmesan and most of the parsley. Add a splash of water to loosen if needed. Season well with salt and black pepper.
Spoon into warm bowls. Scatter over the chestnut crumb and remaining parsley to serve.
Recipe tips
Walnuts or hazelnuts make a good alternative if chestnuts aren’t available.
To make the dish vegetarian, use a vegetarian Parmesan-style cheese and vegetable stock.
You could add a splash of white wine when cooking the mushrooms, or stir in a few soaked dried porcini for extra depth.
This works well as a main, or as a side dish alongside roast chicken or turkey.
