Pea, Mint and Feta Orzo

I have a newfound love for orzo. Regular readers of Chocolate Shavings will know that I absolutely love simple pasta dishes. I've developed most of my pasta recipes to take no longer than the pasta takes to cook. This minty, lemoney spring orzo does just that - it' s light celebrates the warmer weather (although we haven't really been seeing much of the beautiful spring days just yet) and makes these wonderful peas come to life.

I'm leaving for a month-long trip to London in a couple weeks, with an interesting food project ahead - stay tuned to hear more about it, and come along for the ride as I discover the great London eats. I've started making a list of restaurants, markets and specialty food stores to visit, but I'm definitely up for any advice from the locals!

In the meantime, enjoy the flowers starting to bloom and a good, healthy dose of minty orzo.

Pea, Mint and Feta Orzo
(for 2)

Orzo for 2
3 shallots, finely diced
2 green onions, finely diced
1 cup of frozen peas
1/2 lemon, juice and zest
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1/4 cup of cubed feta
10 mint leaves coarsely chopped
1 good handful of freshly grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

Cook for orzo according to package instructions. While the pasta is cooking, set a pan on low heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the diced shallot and green onion and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook the shallot mixture on low heat, making sure it doesn't burn. Keep the shallots cooking during the cooking time of the pasta.

When the pasta has 5 more minutes to cook, add the frozen peas to the pasta water.

In your serving bowl add the 3 tablespoons of olive oil, the lemon juice, zest and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Once the pasta is cooked, add the drained orzo and peas directly in the serving bowl. Fold in the cubed feta and Parmesan, and top with the mint leaves. Drizzle with a little olive oil, add some cracked pepper and serve immediately. Enjoy!