Is this the first time I’ve bought feta in the year+ since I left Greece? Yes. Did I buy the smallest package the supermarket could provide? Yes.

For some reason orzo always seems a cheery pasta to me, and with the bright flavor of lemon and some veggies to make it feel healthy, this is a nice light summer dish. I actually thought about adding chicken, but I didn’t think about it enough and forgot to buy any chicken. Oh well!

Ingredients:

• 4 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 8 asparagus spears, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 cup packed fresh spinach
• juice of 1 large lemon
• 1/3 cup feta cheese
• salt and pepper, to taste

In a medium saucepan, bring the water and salt to a boil. Add the orzo, and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat, then add the garlic and cook 3-4 minutes. Add the asparagus pieces and cook a further 3-4 minutes, then add the spinach. Cook until the asparagus is tender and the spinach has wilted.

Combine the orzo and cooked vegetables in a medium bowl, then drizzle the lemon juice on top.

Season with salt and pepper, stir to combine, then sprinkle the cheese on top. Serve still warm.

If you’re at all confident in the kitchen, you can get away with cutting the asparagus and pulling out all your other ingredients while the water comes to a boil, and then cooking the veggies while the pasta cooks, making it actually a very quick dish to throw together. I think you could do well adding some grilled chicken breast, or some chunks from a supermarket rotisserie chicken if you want to beef this up a bit, but as is it’s enough for dinner for 2, or as a side for more.

I got some ridiculous ‘healthy’ cookbook recently and was hoping to have a second asparagus recipe to share after this one, but it turns out that, nope, asparagus cake is every bit as gross as it sounds.

Lemon Orzo Salad with Asparagus, Spinach, and Feta

From Two Peas and Their Pod.

• 4 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 8 asparagus spears, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 cup packed fresh spinach
• juice of 1 large lemon
• 1/3 cup feta cheese
• salt and pepper, to taste

In a medium saucepan, bring the water and salt to a boil. Add the orzo, and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat, then add the garlic and cook 3-4 minutes. Add the asparagus pieces and cook a further 3-4 minutes, then add the spinach. Cook until the asparagus is tender and the spinach has wilted.

Combine the orzo and cooked vegetables in a medium bowl, then drizzle the lemon juice on top. Season with salt and pepper, stir to combine, then sprinkle the cheese on top. Serve still warm.