This Orzo with Arugula Pesto is an absolute gem of a dish! Arugula pesto is like basil pesto’s rebellious cousin—with the same bright and green flavors but with a little peppery kick from the arugula leaves. Tossed with lots of flavorful sautéd veggies: mushrooms for umami, broccoli for crunch, green peas for a hint of sweetness, and topped with sliced cherry tomatoes for a juicy, pop of color. This pasta dish is healthy and absolutely delicious!
Orzo is shaped like rice grains but it’s a pasta made from durum wheat flour. This petite pasta has a velvety texture and cooks up quickly. Although it’s a pasta, orzo has such a different mouth-feel that it makes dishes so unique; it’s like the love-child of pasta and rice!
Tips for Success
- Stir in the olive oil by hand at the end when making pesto. This will prevent it from being bitter! When olive oil is exposed to a high speed blade, it creates an emulsifying effect with the polyphenols. Polyphenols are compounds (known for their antioxidant properties) that have a bitter taste but they’re coated with fatty acids which keeps the bitterness from being released. When the blade chops the polyphenols down into smaller droplets, the polyphenols emulsify the pesto (which is good) but also releases the bitterness and disperses that throughout the mixture — leaving the pesto with a bitter taste. By hand stirring, the olive oil stays intact and has a more rustic, smooth flavor!
- Don’t overcook the orzo. Orzo cooks up quickly, so don’t forget about it! Cook until al dente because you may want to warm everything up together at the end. No one likes mushy pasta!
- Don’t forget the cherry tomatoes! More than just a garnish pop of color, the cherry tomatoes actually add a lot of complimentary flavors to this pasta dish. Cherry tomatoes are slightly sweet and juicy, adding a nice balance to the green flavors of the arugula and hint of citrus from the lemon.
Arugula
This leafy green vegetable originated in the Mediterranean and belongs to the cruciferous family, along with kale, cabbage, and cauliflower. Arugula leaves have a unique, peppery bite, which adds a lot of unique flavor to dishes!
Arugula is more than just tasty, though; it has tons of nutrients and health benefits! Arugula has compounds, erucin and sulforaphane, that have protective effects against cancer growth—in particular breast cancer—by promoting apoptosis (cell death).1 Arugula is a good source of vitamin K particularly, and is also a good source of folate, vitamin C and A, manganese, and contains calcium as well.2 Aside from cancer, arugula and other cruciferous vegetables have been shown to help protect against cognitive decline, heart disease, and an overall 10% decrease in the risk of death from all causes with every 100-gram serving.3
Killer Mushrooms
Killer to cancer cells, that is! Studies have shown that mushrooms have a strong protective effect against certain cancers, especially breast cancer, inhibiting tumor growth. It’s the presence of beta-glucans in mushrooms that work magic; they enhance the natural killer cell function in the body and increases immune defense against diseases and cancer.4
Mushrooms do more than just fight cancer growth: they also help reduce risk of heart disease (the #1 killer in the United States) by reducing inflammation, cholesterol, and oxidative stress. Polysaccharides in mushrooms may help regulate blood sugar levels, improving insulin resistance.5
Packed with nutrients and vitamins, mushrooms also contain a higher amount of protein than most vegetables (2 grams per cup). Mushrooms are also a great source of vitamin D (33% DV per 1 cup), which your body needs in order to absorb calcium.
From broccoli to super broccoli
If you have the time, chop the broccoli 40 minutes before you cook it because it essentially becomes a cruciferious super hero. No joke! The main active ingredient in broccoli is sulforaphane and it’s a powerful phytochemical. Sulforaphane acts as an antioxidant; protecting our brain and eye health, it has anti-aging and anti-inflammatory properties, and even helps to prevent and treat cancer!6
But there’s a catch: there isn’t any sulforaphane IN the broccoli UNTIL you bite (or chop) it, which then creates a chemical flare reaction. When the sulforaphane precursor (glucoraphanin) mixes with the enzyme myrosinase when chewed or chopped, voila! The sulforaphane is formed. If you chop broccoli and cook it immediately, the enzyme myrosinase is destroyed with the exposure to heat (while glucoraphanin and sulforaphane are resistant). So there must be 40+ minutes between the time you chop broccoli and expose it to heat for sulforaphane to form.7
Eat all the raw broccoli you want! There’s plenty of time for the sulforaphane to form before the broccoli is digested. But if you’re cooking it, try to plan ahead and always let it rest before exposing it to heat.
Pro tip: once you get home from the grocery store, wash and chop your broccoli immediately and store it in the fridge for later! This makes it easier when you pull it out for cooking, too!
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Orzo with Arugula Pesto
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
This Orzo with Arugula Pesto has velvety texture, bold and green flavors from the arugula, and tossed with lots of flavorful sautéed veggies!
Ingredients
- 12 oz orzo pasta
Arugula Pesto
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1 clove garlic
- 6 oz arugula
- 3 tsp lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/4–1/2 tsp salt
- 3–4 Tbsp olive oil
Veggies
- 1/2 of a red onion, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 1/2 cups broccoli
- 7 oz (200 g) mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- salt + pepper, to taste
For Serving
- cherry tomatoes, sliced
- vegan parmesan or feta
Instructions
- Arugula Pesto: place walnuts and garlic in food process and pulse until chopped. Add arugula, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and salt and pulse until a paste is formed, stopping to scrape the sides occasionally. Remove blade and hand-stir in olive oil 1 Tbsp at a time, until desired consistency.
- Orzo: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook 12 oz orzo pasta according to package directions until al dente. Don’t overcook! When orzo finishes cooking, use a strainer to strain water but reserve a few Tbsps of pasta water. Return orzo back to pot and toss with arugula pesto. Stir in 1-2 Tbsp pasta water only if extra moisture is needed.
- Veggies: Meanwhile, heat a drizzle of oil in a large skillet (preferably non-stick) on medium heat. Sauté onions and mushrooms until mushrooms begin to brown and (almost) start to stick but before they burn, about 5-7 minutes. Add broccoli and garlic and cook until broccoli has softened, stirring occasionally. Once broccoli softens, stir in green peas and cook another minute before turning off heat. Season with a little salt and pepper.
- Add veggies to orzo pasta pot and stir to combine. Add anything more to-taste. Serve immediately, topping with sliced cherry tomatoes and optional vegan feta or parmesan.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Mediterranean, Vegan, Vegetarian
Did you enjoy this Orzo with Arugula Pesto? I’d love to hear! Leave me a comment below!
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4065051/
- https://www.health.com/arugula-benefits-7486958#citation-7
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308814621028223?via%3Dihub
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17895634/
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/mushrooms-good-for-diabetes
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5225737/
- https://nutritionfacts.org/2016/02/09/how-to-cook-broccoli/
One of my favorites! Orzo is so much more filling than it looks.
Yay! I love the Orzo Pesto Pasta too; also one of my favorites!