Recipe: saffron orzo with grilled artichokes
An ode to vegetables is not just a cookbook. Alice Zaslavsky shows how to get even more out of vegetables by varying your cooking techniques. Besides steaming and blanching, you can also candy, sear, roast, fry, braise or caramelize many vegetables. From oven-roasted radishes to this saffron orzo with grilled artichokes: eating vegetables every day becomes three times as delicious with this cookbook!
Alice: “Some dishes are family recipes, others are beautiful accidents, while still others are simply divine inspiration. This dish falls into that last category. I really mean what I said about ‘divine’. Saffron and artichokes are two (of many!) Greek gastronomic gifts to the world. If Greek mythology is to be believed, we have Zeus himself to thank for the artichoke, after he turned a homesick goddess into a thistle. Here, the thistle returns to her golden glory and rests on a bed of creamy orzo – or kritharaki, as it is called in Greece – scattered with the sunny glow of saffron. Very fitting, because Zeus is said to have slept on a bed of saffron, and you could say that this dish is a kind of reunion for the ruler of Olympus and his ex. Painful.”
How to make saffron orzo with grilled artichokes
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Place the artichokes cut-side down in the pan and fry them, without touching them, for 4 minutes or until seared and golden brown. Remove the artichokes from the pan and drain them on paper towels.
- Heat the remaining oil in the pan over medium-low heat. Fry the shallots and parsley stems for 4 minutes or until soft. Add the orzo and fry for 2 minutes, stirring, or until the grains are glossy and lightly toasted.
- Pour in the vegetable stock, bring it to a boil and turn the heat down low. Add the saffron threads, cover the pan and cook the orzo for 12 to 15 minutes or until completely tender. Stir in the preserved lemon.
- Place the artichokes on the orzo, rounded side up. Cover the pan and heat the orzo and artichokes all the way through.
- Spoon the orzo with artichoke onto a serving platter and sprinkle with the chopped parsley and hazelnuts. Serve hot or cold.
Title: An ode to vegetables
Author: Alice Zaslavsky
Price: €40
Publisher: Good Cook
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