Make me like one of your French dishes

I made Deb Perelman’s Baked Orzo and Artichokes last night and I absolutely loved it. It was great as soon as it came out of the oven, but as it sat and cooled and the flavors really began to meld, it got seriously delicious.

It didn’t have a bunch of fussy and ingredients, it’s one-pot, and it was not difficult to throw together.

Notes: Mine did not get as toasty as her’s; would crank up the heat to finish next time. I would also likely take the time to nearly caramelize the onions, as I’ve found that an easy cheat to make everything delicious is to add jammy onions and melted cheese to it. So I’d like to give this the French Onion treatment and replace the mint with thyme, and the mozzarella for Gruyere (or Gouda or Swiss, in a pinch). I don’t know if Gruyere will get as melty and “pully” as mozzarella, but who cares? It’ll be amazing.

I could also see doing a Spinach and Artichoke “dip” variation. I think that’s the genius of this recipe. You can customize to your tastes and it will still sing.

Highly recommend.