When I was growing up, eating out usually meant going to an Asian restaurant or an American fast food joint. Our very rare visits to sit-down, non-Asian restaurant were big deals, and we mostly went to chain restaurants. One favorite was the Macaroni Grill, and I always ordered the exact same dish: salmon with a side of sun-dried tomato orzo pasta. I ordered it not because I loved the salmon, but because that orzo was just so delicious. Flecked with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes, the tender pasta wasn’t drowned in tomato or cream sauce like most of the other dishes at the restaurant, and I couldn’t get enough.

This was the first dish I ever tried to recreate by taste memory. I remembered little bits of sweet onion and feeling like the orzo was cooked in some kind of broth or stock. So I browned some onion in olive oil, toasted the orzo in the oil, then added canned chicken broth a little at a time until the orzo was tender. After I stirred in some spinach (I skipped the sundried tomatoes), I took a taste and did my first happy dance in the kitchen. It tasted like I was at Macaroni Grill! Maybe this was an early sign that I would eventually develop recipes for a living.

Cooking orzo this way soon became routine, and I made this dish often after I was married. It paired so well with seafood or with meats, and if we added enough vegetables, became both our starch and our vegetable side all in one dish. Spinach is a great stir-in, but I now prefer it with frozen peas, lemon zest, and Parmesan since those are always in my kitchen. The ingredients are really flexible, but the one thing I always do is make sure that the onion is not just cooked until softened, but cooked until golden-brown before the orzo is added. The browned onion imparts a deeper, more savory flavor, so I never rush that step.

The finished orzo is always flavorful since it’s cooked in broth, but lighter and quicker cooking than risotto. Vegetable broth works great here if you want to keep it vegetarian, but since it’s a dominant flavor in the orzo, make sure you go with one you really like the taste of. This dish can easily be a main with a poached or fried egg on top, but is just as comfortable on the sidelines next to a protein. Stir often once the orzo goes in to make sure it cooks evenly and doesn’t burn, but treat it as a meditative practice, maybe with a glass of wine in hand and some tunes playing in the background. Happy dancing optional.

One-Pot Orzo with Peas and Parmesan

Serves 4 as a main dish; 6 as a side

1/2 medium yellow onion

3 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

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