Orzo With Blue Cheese And Walnuts Recipes

BLUE CHEESE ORZO SALAD

Steps:

• Cook orzo according to package directions; drain and place in a large bowl.
• Add the arugula, bacon, blue cheese, onions and walnuts.
• In a blender, combine the first six vinaigrette ingredients; cover and process until blended.
• While procession, gradually add oil in a steady stream.
• Drizzle over salad; toss to coat.
• Serve the salad immediately.

CARAMELIZED ONION AND BLUE CHEESE ORZO

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
• Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• While pasta is cooking, heat butter and oil in a large skillet over low heat.
• Cook onion in this mixture with brown sugar until golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Remove from pan with a spoon and drain on paper towels.
• In a large bowl, combine blue cheese (or Brie & Blue Cheese if using), mascarpone, crushed red pepper flakes, onion, ground nutmeg (just a pinch) and mix well.
• Toss cheese mixture with spinach and pasta, season with salt and pepper and serve.

CARAMELIZED ONION AND BLUE CHEESE ORZO

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• While pasta is cooking, heat butter and oil in a large skillet over low heat. Cook onion in this mixture until golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from pan with a spoon and drain on paper towels.
• In a large bowl, combine blue cheese, mascarpone and onion and mix well. Toss cheese mixture with spinach and pasta, season with salt and pepper and serve.

BLUE CHEESE SPINACH ORZO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a saucepan over medium-high heat, add the butter to melt. Once the butter has melted, reduce the heat, add the flour and stir to create a roux; the roux should be pale blond in color. Once the roux is made, reduce the heat again to low, add the milk, stirring into the roux and cooking until the roux has thickened. Finally, add the blue cheese, 1 cup at a time, until all the cheese has been added and well blended. Season with the salt and pepper blend. Remove from the heat and continue to stir to ensure consistency.
• Once the sauce has been prepared, add the orzo, spinach and tomatoes and stir to incorporate into the cream sauce. Allow the orzo to warm with the sauce, then remove from the heat and serve. This has a shelf life of 5 days.

BLUE CHEESE, CANDIED WALNUT AND CITRUS ORZO SALAD

Steps:

• 1. To make the orzo: In medium size sauce pan on medium low heat, melt butter and olive oil. Add the chopped onions and salt and pepper. Cook uncovered to soften the onions, not brown them. After about 5 minutes they will be translucent and ready to accept the orzo. Add the cup of orzo and coat with the buttery onion mixture. Add a bit more salt and pepper as orzo has absolutely no taste. Let the orzo toast a bit (2-3 minutes) and add water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to the lowest simmer and cook 12-13 minutes. The orzo will still be a bit watery, but keep covered off the heat and all the liquid will evaporate.
• 2. While orzo is cooling, candy the walnuts. In large saucepan on medium heat add the sugar and butter. Mix to combine. Now add the nuts and coat them in the sugary liquid. Toast the mixture for about 3 minutes. Just keep an eye on the nuts as they can burn before 3 minutes. Transfer candied nuts to a piece of parchment and separate the the best you can and set them aside to cool.
• 3. To make the dressing, combine all ingredients in a medium size jar and shake, or just whisk everything together until it emulsifies.
• 4. To assemble the dish, combine scallions, orange segments, celery and cilantro. Now add your blue cheese and cooled orzo. If I'm making this ahead, I dress the salad with only half the dressing, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Then I dress it again right before serving time. I like the salad served at room temp, but it's still delish served cold. And don't forget to liberally sprinkle those sweet toasted walnuts on top of your salad right before serving. By the way you can make individual lettuce cups with this recipe. they get grabbed up fast tho!