Meatless Monday: Baked Orzo with Fontina and Peas

courtesy of FoodNetwork.com

I'm back with another recipe from Giada's New Italian Favorites and I have to say, exploring my cookbooks was one of the best New Years resolutions I have ever come up with. My family and I discovered some tasty new dishes, none of which contained lemon zest (something I thought ever Giada dish contained). We'll be adding a couple to our rotation.

This time around, I made baked orzo and fontina with peas. I was following the directions and couldn't figure out why the recipe didn't look as robust as it should. Turns out, I read the directions wrong ... I was supposed to use a POUND of orzo NOT a cup. Oops. While the recipe baked, I boiled up more orzo and added in the end. The recipe tasted good but not as "baked" (if that makes sense) as it should. Guess I will try it again. I made sure to highlight the pound part of the recipe in my cookbook so I don't make that mistake again.

Baked Orzo with Fontina and Peas

from Giada's New Italian Favorites

Ingredients

4 cups chicken broth (used veggie broth)
1 pound orzo pasta
3 tablespoons butter, plus more to grease the baking dish
1 onion, chopped
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 cup Marsala wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 ounces shredded fontina cheese (about 1 cup)
4 ounces diced fresh mozzarella cheese (about 1 cup)
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish.

Bring the chicken broth to a boil over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. Add the orzo and cook until almost tender, about 7 minutes. Pour the orzo and the broth into a large bowl. Set aside.

Meanwhile, melt the butter over medium heat in a medium skillet. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to saute until the mushrooms are beginning to turn golden around the edges, about 7 minutes. Add the Marsala. Scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan and cook until the Marsala has reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the mushroom mixture to the orzo in the large bowl. Add the cream, fontina, mozzarella, peas, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.

In a small bowl combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, and driedthyme. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture on top of the pasta. Bake until golden, about 25 minutes.

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