Warming Winter Orzo

January and February are generally dark, wet and dreary months in England and on the whole, this year is no exception. It is still dark by 5pm, but I noticed yesterday that the outside lights (which are on a timer) came on before it got dark, which means the days are - albeit almost imperceptibly - getting longer. It’s not long now till March when the snowdrops and daffodils will begin to come through here, but in the meantime, there is nothing like a lovely comforting stew to warm the cockles of your heart. 

Orzo is versatile rice shaped pasta that works well in soups, casseroles and anywhere you would use rice or pasta. I am a big fan of orzo, and used it in yesterday's post too. It gives soups and stews a hearty texture and really enhances their flavour as well.

This dish takes a little while to assemble, but once it is cooking you can just leave it until the last few minutes. It is a wonderful to have it stewing away in the oven, the gorgeous smells it gives your home promising the wonderful meal to come.

To serve 4 people you need:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped

3 to 4 carrots, peeled and cut in one inch chunks

¼ cup Madeira or sherry (optional)

1 pound of chuck steak or stewing beef, cubed

1 bottle of (lager) beer (approximately 11 ounces)

4 cups beef stock (approximately)

1 tablespoon tomato paste (tomato puree)

1 teaspoon oregano

1 bay leaf

1 - 14 ounce can of mixed beans, preferably organic, drained & rinsed

1 cup orzo

salt and pepper to taste

You need a large lidded casserole that is suitable for both stove top and oven, or a frying pan for the stove top and a casserole for the oven. Preheat the oven to 350℉ (160℃ or 150℃ for a fan oven).

Heat the oil in the stove top safe casserole or in the frying pan on the stove top over medium heat. Sauté the onion until it begins to become translucent.

Stir in the chuck steak or stewing beef cubes and brown. When the steak is taking on a bit of colour on all sides, add the Madeira or sherry (if using), the lager, 2 cups of the beef stock (reserve the rest for later). and the tomato puree.  Stir until everything is combined.

Add the carrots, drained beans and oregano to this mixture and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat for about five to ten minutes.

If you are using a frying pan, this is the point when you should transfer the mixture to an oven safe lidded casserole. If you are already using a casserole, pop the lid on. Put the casserole into the oven and cook for an hour, stirring once half way through if you remember.

Remove the casserole from the oven. Remove the bay leaf and stir in the orzo. Add the reserved stock and stir. Put the lid back on and return the casserole to the oven.

After about fifteen minutes, remove the casserole from the oven again and check if the orzo has absorbed all the stock. If it has, taste it for tenderness. If it still seems a bit firm, add a bit more stock, cover and return to the oven for about ten more minutes. If there is still stock left in the mixture don’t worry, just return the casserole to the oven for about ten more minutes. By the way, this is a good point to taste the dish for flavour (don’t burn your mouth!) and add salt and pepper to taste if necessary.

When the stock has absorbed and the orzo is al dente, your casserole is done. Remove it from the oven and place it on a heat safe surface. Allow to rest for about ten minutes before serving in warmed bowls with some nice warm bread or rolls on the side.

The 21st Century Housewife’s© Risotto Primavera

This is a wonderful recipe for this time of year, and with the exception of the asparagus, you may well have most of the ingredients to hand already. It's a great recipe for Earth Day as well as it is totally meat free, and if you use local produce it has a very small carbon footprint. (Just remember that if you are catering for strict vegetarians you need to be sure to use vegetarian cheese.) Speaking of cheese, you can use whatever kind you wish, from Gruyere to Parmesan. However, for me, the sharp tang of cheddar cheese against the soft creamy bite of the rice and gently cooked spring vegetables really make this dish. It’s a bit unexpected to use cheddar in Italian cooking, but the results are fantastic.

Risotto is definitely a hands on dish, something that has to be watched and stirred almost constantly. The finished dish is well worth the effort though and like Nigella Lawson, I do highly recommend the benefits of a little mindless repetitive stirring, particularly if you are feeling stressed (which I am this week with my son still stuck in Athens due to the volcanic ash cloud over Europe). Stirring is bizarrely reassuring, plus you get to serve and eat delicious comfort food as a result of your labours. So it is a good deal all round!

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
320 grams of risotto rice (Arborio, Carnaroli or Vialone)
1 glass dry white wine
1 litre of vegetable stock (I made mine from cubes)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup of frozen peas
a couple of good handfuls of asparagus spears, each one cut in two to three pieces and lightly steamed for two to three minutes
1 handful of grated cheddar cheese

Take the peas out of the freezer, measure out one cupful and leave them on the side to thaw out a bit. Heat the oil over medium heat in a saute pan or fairly deep frying pan (in a pinch you can use a large saucepan for this as well). Gently saute the onion until it is beginning to soften, but not brown. Stir in the risotto rice until it is well mixed with the onion and coated with oil.

Pour in the glass of wine and stir gently until it is absorbed. Now you can begin adding the stock, a few ladles full at a time, stirring each one in until it is absorbed. This will take at least fifteen to twenty minutes. Don’t be tempted to crank up the heat too much, you have to be patient with this dish. When cooking risotto the burner should never be turned up beyond medium heat.

As soon as the last ladleful of stock has been absorbed, turn the heat back a bit and stir in the cheese and the frozen peas until the cheese has melted. After a couple of minutes gently stir in the already steamed asparagus.

That’s it, you are good to go. This is not the most calorie conscious suggestion I have ever made, but we love this served with fresh bread or hot rolls in our house. However, if you are being healthy, a crisp fresh salad makes a great side dish. Having said that, risotto is perfectly fine eaten all by itself from a bowl while you are curled up in front of the television, yet it’s also good enough to serve at the most formal dinner party as a starter (in which case this would serve six easily). I hope you enjoy it as much as we do in our house!