Baked Orzo with Fontina and Peas

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Show: Everyday ItalianEpisode: A Cut Above the Rest

Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (118)

Cook Time:
30 min
Level:
Easy
Yield:
6 to 8 servings

Times:

Prep: 25 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 30 min
Total:: 55 min

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Ingredients

4 cups chicken 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 dried thyme. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture on top of the pasta. Bake until golden, about 25 minutes.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Baked Orzo with Fontina and Peas
Timothy Bay Village, OH 02-08-2010
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Doubled the recipe
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I saw the show at lunchtime and felt it would travel well with my steak dinner I was serving for my sister?s birthday. I... doubled the recipe so that I would be able to serve 12 to 14. The only problem was when I placed the Orzo into the chicken stock; I stepped away from the stove for about 2 minutes only to find that the orzo had stuck to the bottom of my mother?s pot. This could have been because my mother?s pot is cheap and I was cooking on my mother?s electric stove. I?m a gas man with very good heavy pots and pans. I would like to improve on the bread crumbs, as they were alright. Maybe season crumbs? All and all, the dish was great. Many complements from the guests that night.Read more
recipe Baked Orzo with Fontina and Peas
Tammy Mansfield, OH 02-06-2010
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Blah, Blah, Blah!!!!
Rated: 2 stars out of 5

I generally love Giada's recipes but this one falls short of her usual tasty dishes. I always make a new recipe exactly as... directed. As I am a pretty good cook myself, I found this recipe to be VERY bland. The only thing that you could see and taste were the peas. Had I not been the cook I wouldn't have even noticed the mushrooms. I also think the orzo pasta is too small for a boil and bake recipe. Too mushy! Read more
recipe Baked Orzo with Fontina and Peas
Sheila Highlands Ran ch, CO 02-04-2010
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SO RICH, CREAMY AND TASTY!!!!!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I read all the reviews and ended up making it the way Giada did, minus the $ fontina, (just doubled the mozzerella). It was... so wonderful! I don't know how anyone could think this was bland....even my non mushroom eating, picky teenage boys ate it! (ok, they DID pick out the mushrooms!) This is a keeper!Read more
recipe Baked Orzo with Fontina and Peas
Jen waterford, MI 02-03-2010
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new FAV dish!!!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I have to say i read most of the reviews and was nervous mine was going to be dry because a lot of posts were that more broth... was needed. I did everything exactly how the recipe said with the exception of cooking the orzo maybe 2 min longer than directed because it was a little too liquidy still. I think if you cook the orzo til it's actually done, then it comes out too dry because it obsorbs too much of the liquid....so make sure to only cook about 7-9 minutes. I put in everything that it called for, and it was a HUGE hit with my family. This does make A LOT though, I made this for 4 people and had half leftover and we all had 2 helpings. I can't wait to eat the leftovers though!!! Giada your amazing!!Read more
recipe Baked Orzo with Fontina and Peas
Nicole Milwaukee, WI 02-01-2010
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so good and so easy
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

The only change I made was 1 cup of chicken broth instead of the marsala cooking wine, only because I didn't have any on hand... and 8 oz of fontina cheese. I will definitely be making this again!Read more
recipe Baked Orzo with Fontina and Peas
Yuki Ann Arbor, MI 01-31-2010
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A great side dish
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

I loved the flavor of Marsala and the color of peas. The only thing I will change next time is the amount of bread crumb.... 1/2 cup of bread crumb was too much for this recipe. Instead of getting crunchy on top, it just got brown and dryer. Read more