Bring a 4-quart pot of water to a boil, add orzo, return to boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 8 minutes until just tender.
Using a sieve, strain orzo reserving ⅛ cup of water in the pot.
Return drained orzo to pot with liquid. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and stir to coat. Set aside.
Layer the Flavor
Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute until the garlic becomes fragrant.
Add artichoke quarters and stir to combine, scraping garlic from bottom of pan. Continue cooking 5-7 minutes until everything begins to brown
Remove from heat and immediately pour in vinegar to deglaze the pan. Vigorously scrape the bottom of the pan to release the browned bits.
Add in minced parsley, 1 teaspoon of lemon zest and the roasted nuts. Stir to mix evenly.
Spoon artichoke mixture into orzo and stir to distribute everything evenly.
Serve it Up
Taste the dish and add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve on individual plates. Garnish with a sprig of parsley, a pinch of Parmesan cheese and a few sprinkles of lemon zest.
Offer with freshly cracked pepper, accompanied by focaccia bread and a fresh green salad.
Recipe Notes
This recipe can easily be made with fresh artichokes when they are in season and inexpensive.
1. Steam 6-8 fresh artichokes in a large stockpot of boiling water for about 45 minutes until they are tender.
2. Drain the water and let the artichokes cool completely. (Steps 1 & 2 can be done the day before).
3. Remove all the outer leaves and the “choke” itself. Only the hearts are used in this dish, save the leaves to eat as a snack. Discard the fuzzy inner choke.
4. These will be larger than either the frozen or canned options, so cut the hearts into quarters, then cut each quarter into 4 equal pieces and sauté with the garlic as described above.
This recipe is from the award-winning cookbook, Eat it Food Adventures with Marco Polo available at recipe4success.org
