Best Roasted Garlic Orzo Recipes

CREAMY ROASTED GARLIC & SPINACH ORZO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. Remove papery outer skin from garlic bulb but do not peel or separate the cloves. Cut off top of garlic bulb, exposing individual cloves. Drizzle cut cloves with 1 teaspoon oil. Wrap in foil. Bake 30-35 minutes or until cloves are soft. Unwrap. When cool enough to handle, squeeze garlic from skins., In a Dutch oven, heat remaining oil over medium-high heat. Add pasta; cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned. Add stock; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 10-12 minutes or until pasta is tender and liquid is absorbed., Stir in cream cheese until melted. Add spinach, Asiago cheese, milk, seasoning blend, salt and roasted garlic; cook and stir until spinach is wilted. Sprinkle with parsley.

ROASTED GARLIC ORZO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Tightly wrap garlic in foil and roast in middle of oven about 25 minutes, or until tender. Carefully unwrap garlic and let cool slightly. Remove skin from cloves and mash into a paste. Transfer garlic paste to a bowl and stir in butter and parsley.
• While garlic is roasting, in a small skillet dry-roast poppy seeds over moderate heat, shaking skillet until fragrant, being careful not to burn them. Add seeds to garlic mixture.
• While garlic is roasting, in a saucepan of boiling salted water cook orzo until tender and reserve about 1/4 cup cooking water. Drain orzo well and add to garlic mixture with enough reserved cooking water to melt butter and prevent orzo from sticking together. Season orzowith salt and pepper.

SQUASH WITH ORZO & ROASTED GARLIC & FETA SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Remove the outer layers of the garlic bulb and slice off the root end, being careful to not cut too deep into the cloves. Put on a small sheet of foil, drizzle with 1 tbsp of the olive oil and sprinkle over a pinch of salt. Scrunch to enclose the garlic in the foil and bake for 45 mins. Remove from the oven and leave to cool still wrapped in the foil.
• Meanwhile, toss the squash with 2 tbsp of the oil, the paprika and some seasoning. Tip onto a baking sheet and roast for 30-40 mins, turning halfway, until the squash is tender and has some colour.
• For the sauce, combine the feta, yogurt, lemon juice and 4 of the roasted garlic cloves (squeezing the flesh out of the skins) to create a smooth paste. It should be thick but pourable - add up to 2 tbsp water to loosen if needed. Set aside.
• Cook the orzo in a pan of salted water over a medium heat for 4-5 mins until it's cooked but still has bite. Drain, reserving a cupful of the orzo water and cool in a sieve under cold running water.
• Cook the leek with 1 tbsp oil and the butter over a medium heat in a large pan, stirring regularly, for 5 mins. Add the preserved lemon and the flesh of 3 roasted garlic cloves, then mash together well. Once the leeks are translucent, tip in the cooked orzo, stock and a splash of the pasta cooking water. Stir for a minute to warm through the orzo. Mix in half of the parsley.
• Spoon the orzo and leeks onto plates, top with the squash and drizzle over the feta sauce. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and serve.