Greek Cuisine
Ingredients:
- 1 recipe olive oil béchamel
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 4 small globe artichokes or 2 large globe artichokes
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced, or 1 small bulb of green garlic, minced
- 1 ⅔ cups orzo
- ¾ cup shelled fresh peas
- 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
- 2 tbsp finely chopped dill
- ½ cup Parmesan, grated
Directions:
- Make the béchamel and set aside.
- Fill a bowl with water and add the lemon juice.
- Cut away the stem and the top third of each artichoke, break off the
leaves and trim them down to the bottoms, placing them in the water as you go
along.
- Quarter them and slice large quarters about ¼ inch thick.
- Save the leaves and steam them; serve them as a first course or a side
dish.
- Drain the artichoke hearts and dry on a clean dish towel.
- Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy skillet. Add the
sliced artichoke hearts and cook, stirring, until lightly browned and tender,
about 10 minutes.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Turn down the heat and add the garlic. Cook just until fragrant, about
30 seconds, and remove from the heat.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Oil a 2-quart baking dish.
- Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil and add the
orzo. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the peas and continue to boil for another 4 minutes, until the
orzo is just tender but still firm to the bite.
- Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
- Add the artichokes, herbs, béchamel and Parmesan and stir together
until the sauce coats all of the other ingredients.
- Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
- Place in the oven and bake 30 minutes, until lightly colored on top.