BAKED ORZO WITH ARTICHOKES AND PEAS

Baked Orzo With Artichokes and Peas image

This is a Greek-inspired pastitsio, a comforting béchamel-enriched mix of orzo, artichokes and peas. Rather than butter, the béchamel in this dish is made with a couple of glugs of good extra virgin olive oil.

Provided by Martha Rose Shulman

Categories dinner, weekday, pastas, main course

Time 1h10m

Yield 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 10

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Ingredients

1 recipe olive oil béchamel
Juice of 1 lemon
4 small globe artichokes or 2 large globe artichokes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced, or 1 small bulb of green garlic, minced
3/4 pound orzo (about 1 2/3 cups)
3/4 cup shelled fresh peas (about 1 pound in the shells)
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped dill
2 ounces Parmesan, grated (1/2 cup)

Steps:

Make the béchamel and set aside.
Prepare the artichokes. Fill a bowl with water and add the lemon juice. Cut away the stem and the top third of each artichoke, break off the leaves and trim them down to the bottoms, placing them in the water as you go along. Quarter them and slice large quarters about 1/4 inch thick. Save the leaves and steam them; serve them as a first course or a side dish.
Drain the artichoke hearts and dry on a clean dish towel. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy skillet. Add the sliced artichoke hearts and cook, stirring, until lightly browned and tender, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Turn down the heat and add the garlic. Cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds, and remove from the heat.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 2-quart baking dish. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil and add the orzo. Cook 5 minutes, add the peas and continue to boil for another 4 minutes, until the orzo is just tender but still firm to the bite. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Add the artichokes, herbs, béchamel and Parmesan and stir together until the sauce coats all of the other ingredients. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
Place in the oven and bake 30 minutes, until lightly colored on top.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 1139, UnsaturatedFat 25 grams, Carbohydrate 82 grams, Fat 75 grams, Fiber 4 grams, Protein 35 grams, SaturatedFat 44 grams, Sodium 3989 milligrams, Sugar 40 grams, TransFat 2 grams