Delicata Orzo
Delicata squash is the lowest maintenance winter squash - it’s easy to cut/dice/roast/saute. You can eat the skin. You can stuff it, puree it.
In this recipe, we’re building flavor with each ingredient, so it’s active cooking (as opposed to the type of recipe where you throw everything into a pot and let the ingredients sort themselves out). And with that active cooking attention, you’ll get a deeply flavored dish with all the earthiness, sweetness, and umami that winter squash, mushroom, and greens can bring.
Also, let’s eat more orzo!
Delicata Orzo
Ingredients
Salt
8 ounces orzo pasta
Grapeseed, peanut, or vegetable oil
1 delicata squash (about 12 ounces), diced
2 medium onions (about 1 pound total), finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps diced
1 tablespoon aopple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
about 2 cups of greens (spinach, 3 big leaves Swiss chard or kale, stalks removed and leaves finely chopped)
Freshly ground black pepper
Shaved Parmesan cheese (optional)
Recipe summary: Boil orzo until al dente. Drain and toss with a healthy drizzle of oil (the same as your cooking oil). In a large saute pan, heat your oil over high heat and add the diced delicata. Cook for 4 minutes. Then toss and cook for 3 more minutes. Reduce heat to medium and push squash to the side of the pan. Add the onions to the center of the pan and cook til the start to brown. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for a few seconds. Push onions to the side. Add mushrooms and let sit for 4 minutes. Stir and let sit for another 4 minutes. Whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, and 2 tbsp of oil. Add to the pan; mix everything together and scrape up browned bits as you go, for 3 minutes. Turn heat as high as it can go. Add in orzo a little at a time, stirring into the mixture. In the las tminute, add the greens, stir them in, and turn off the heat. Top with shaved parmesan.
