Orzo with Spinach and Pine Nuts is a deliciously satisfying pasta side dish. Somewhere between a velvety risotto and a comforting mac and cheese, it has been a family favorite for nearly as long as I’ve been cooking.

Orzo with Spinach and Pine Nuts in a pretty dish from Louisville Stoneware.

A Recipe for All Seasons

I write a lot about the seasons here and yet, like true friendship, some recipes transcend the seasons. Orzo with Spinach and Pine Nuts is one of those recipes. This silky pasta dish, somewhere between a velvety risotto and a comforting mac and cheese, has been a family favorite for nearly as long as I’ve been cooking. A good friend shared it with me soon after we met… many many years ago.

My friend and I met at church. Both transplants to the area, we were among the youngest adults in the congregation back then. An introduction was natural.

Soon we learned that we had even more in common. Both of us worked in the financial industry and both were navigating transitions in our careers. Before long, we also discovered that we both loved to cook. We enjoyed baking and treasured our family recipes. In time we learned that we shared an even deeper legacy – both our mothers battled breast cancer when we were just girls, in the 1960’s.

While our deepest bond was in that last detail, food was our common language. I didn’t always understand her technical jargon and she didn’t always get my southern slang but our interest in the process of discovery, and in sharing those discoveries, kept us engaged. As the years passed we traded recipes, shared our creation of family cookbooks and wrote about the foods we love.

Orzo with Spinach and Pine Nuts garnish with shredded parmesan.

Time Marches On

Meanwhile my friend and I have both grown and changed. We now live in different parts of the country. Our families have faced unique challenges and developed in distinct ways. We get our news about the world from different sources and we have divergent views on current events. She asks if my pointing out that weather extremes are an historical constant makes me a climate denier. I wonder if her reposting denials of the ongoing riots and destruction in Portland means she is wearing blinders. She thinks I drink the Kool-Aid; I wish she would be more circumspect.

And still, especially when things get a certain kind of tough, we keep in touch. Though we have taken some different forks in the road I believe we are still connected, for better or worse, that we will always be like family. When a pandemic locks down the present or when we need the comfort of someone who still knows our younger selves, we reach out. She and I have both wrestled with a legacy of breast cancer and have each fought our own battle with the beast. We are both still here to tell the tale. She is still writing about food, as am I. We both remain engaged in sharing new discoveries in the kitchen while relying on recipes from the past that are tried and true.

Keeping it Simple

And so I return to Orzo with Spinach and Pine Nuts. These days I am more careful to check on the orzo and make sure it doesn’t overcook. I like it best al dente. I am also more likely to increase the amount of spinach added. It is good for us, they say, and I often have a large bag of it in the refrigerator. The last time I made this recipe I noted that I added 4-6 cups of spinach and that the amount could probably be doubled. In that case I would call it Spinach with Orzo rather than Orzo with Spinach but I think it would still taste delicious. I also noted that it makes a lot. For just my husband and me I could cut the quantity of orzo to 1 cup and the broth to 2 1/2 cups and still have leftovers.

While it is tempting to add more parmesan I try to remember not too. It isn’t needed. And these days the pine nuts have become quite costly. Often I carefully toast just a few and scatter them on top at the end. They add a touch of visual punctuation, an inviting contrast in texture and a delightful bit of lustrous flavor.