Creamy Parmesan Spinach Orzo from Life as a Strawberry

Creamy Parmesan Spinach Orzo - made August 8, 2022 from Life as a Strawberry 

2 cups uncooked orzo pasta

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 green onions, chopped (I substituted a regular onion - my mistake)

1 clove garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons flour

1 3/4 cups milk

2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1. Cook orzo in very salty water until al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add green onion and garlic. Saute, stirring, for about a minute until onions have softened and garlic is fragrant. Add salt and pepper, stirring to combine.
3. Add flour and stir to combine. Let cook for 30 seconds to cook out any raw flour tastee.
4. Add milk to the pot, a little at a time, whisking constantly to work out any lumps. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened and reached a low simmer, about 5-8 minutess.
5. Add chopped spinach to sauce and stir to combine. Add parmesan cheese. Stir until cheese has melted and sauce is smooth. Add cooked orzo to sauce and toss to coat. Turn off heat and serve immediately.

Another orzo recipe, similar to the last one I posted with spinach and parmesan cheese. You know when I do very similar recipes one after the other, that means I have the same ingredients to use up. This is like the Italian Sausage Orzo but also noticeably different since it doesn't have the sausage in it so it can easily fit in on a meatless day. It's made with whole milk instead of heavy cream so it's also a bit lighter.

I have to say though that it's also a bit more bland. I used a regular onion instead of green onions and erred further by not cooking the onion enough so they didn't soften enough and instead made the dish a little crunchy. I don't mind the flavor of onions but definitely don't like their texture unless they've been cooked and softened enough to blend with the pasta. Which they didn't here but that was user error on my part. This was okay but I think it would've been better with some mild or spicy Italian sausage to add more flavor. But hey, I did end up eating more spinach that I usually do.