The 78th recipe I made with the Eating with Ellie group is Lemon-Thyme Orzo Pilaf, and can be found in Ellie Krieger's book Weeknight Wonders, on page 263. The theme for the week was chosen by Gaye: Perfect Pasta.
Ingredient list: shallots, olive oil, orzo, chicken broth, Parmesan cheese, tomatoes, thyme, lemon, salt, and pepper.
It has taken me quite awhile to learn to think of orzo as pasta. It looks a lot like rice so I tend to use it where I would use rice and not really as pasta on its own. This week's theme inspired me to select orzo when considering which Ellie pasta dish I wanted to make. The recipe is simple and delicious, I would not hesitate to make it over and over, and the combinations could be endless.
The Parmesan melts into the pasta giving it that cheesy goodness that I love with any kind of pasta (sometimes I think it is really the cheese I'm going for and not the actual pasta). The chicken broth gives it a savory flavor as do the shallots and tomatoes. The lemon just makes it all sing. All of the ingredients are simple, the directions are all simple, and it is all weeknight friendly as it takes hardly any time at all. We served it with baked chicken on a bed of lettuce with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and a sprinkling of fresh ground pepper. Make enough for leftovers as it reheats well in the microwave and/or it is also great morphed into a pasta salad...I did a little of each.
The Parmesan melts into the pasta giving it that cheesy goodness that I love with any kind of pasta (sometimes I think it is really the cheese I'm going for and not the actual pasta). The chicken broth gives it a savory flavor as do the shallots and tomatoes. The lemon just makes it all sing. All of the ingredients are simple, the directions are all simple, and it is all weeknight friendly as it takes hardly any time at all. We served it with baked chicken on a bed of lettuce with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and a sprinkling of fresh ground pepper. Make enough for leftovers as it reheats well in the microwave and/or it is also great morphed into a pasta salad...I did a little of each.
If you wonder how the others did this week, click here to follow their post links. You can also find the recipe schedule there for the coming weeks. Next week's recipe theme was chosen by Peggy and is Chili Today, Hot Tamale. Please come and join us at any time, just leave the link to your post that week so that week so we know where to find you.
Note: In our posts, we do not publish the recipes from Ellie Krieger's book as those belong to her, we like to honor that and encourage you to guy her books to get the recipes. You can also find her recipes at her site here, at her weekly newspaper article here, her recipes online here, and at her current tv show site here. We know that you will enjoy using Ellie's books again and again and that you will feel your money was well spent.