7 hours ago
2
Frozen peas are endlessly versatile, nutritious and budget-friendly. They’re also a great way to add more veg into a meal, and they mix well with other flavours.
Because I like a properly browned mushroom, I fry them first, then remove them from the pan to mix back in later. If you’re not fussy about this, you can speed up the cooking time by frying the mushrooms and onions together.
For a vegetarian version of the dish, remove the bacon and opt for vegetable stock over chicken, and to make it vegan, use nutritional yeast instead of parmesan.
One-pot orzo with peas, mushrooms and bacon
Serves 4
400-500g mushrooms, depending on the pack size, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
200g bacon lardons
1 tbsp tomato paste (concentrated purée)
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
200g dried orzo
750ml vegetable or chicken stock
Freshly ground black pepper
200g frozen peas
Handful of parsley, finely chopped, to serve (optional)
Parmesan, grated, to serve (optional)
Heat a large frying pan or saucepan with a lid over a medium heat. Add the mushrooms and dry fry until they’ve released their moisture and the liquid starts to evaporate. Drizzle in half of the oil and fry the mushrooms for a few minutes more, until they are beginning to brown. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
Drizzle in the remaining oil and tip in the onions. Turn down the heat to medium-low and fry the onion for 8–10 minutes, or until softened but not golden.
Mix in the bacon and turn up the heat to medium. Fry for a few minutes until the bacon is golden and starting to crisp.
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Stir in the reserved mushrooms and any juices along with the tomato paste and mixed herbs. Add in the orzo and fry for a minute before adding the stock and a good seasoning of freshly ground black pepper.
Put the lid on the pan and bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 8 minutes. Remove the lid to check how much liquid is left; if it’s still quite soupy then keep the lid off and simmer for 2–4 minutes until the orzo is almost tender and the stock has been absorbed.
If the dish starts to become too dry, it will stick to the bottom of the pan and start to burn. If this happens, add a little more water or stock – you want a small amount of liquid, but it shouldn’t be swimming.
Add the frozen peas and mix everything together. Cook for 2 minutes until the peas are warmed through and tender. Serve with a scattering of parsley and freshly grated parmesan, if you like.
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This is an edited extract from The Frozen Peas Cookbook by Samuel Goldsmith, photography by Mowie Kay (Murdoch Books, RRP A$39.99)
