I have been fiddling around in my garden the past few days, nurturing my little sprouts and young plants, weeding, and dreaming about being able to cook again with my fresh bounty.  Chard, broccoli, spinach, carrots, garlic, peas…all are growing more each day.

So when I saw this recipe on moveeatcreate.wordpress.com I envisioned my baby vegetables all grown up and ready to eat.  I couldn’t wait and had to try it. Just to make sure I had items from my garden in the dish today, I converted the fresh herbs to dried and used the basil, thyme and parsley I grew and dried last fall.

The recipe originally came from Vegetarian Times.  My version is not quite vegetarian since I am using my turkey stock.  I am also using matzo meal instead of bread crumbs in the topping because I still have so much left over from Passover.  The only drawbacks to matzo meal was that I needed to add a little salt to the topping and that it did not brown the way bread crumbs would have.

Lentil, Orzo & Broccoli Bake

Adapted from Move Eat Create‘s Lemony Lentil, Orzo & Broccoli Bake

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 large carrot, diced

6 cloves of garlic, minced

1 medium head of broccoli, stem discarded, chopped

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 cup dry brown lentils, rinsed and picked through for stones

1 tsp dried thyme (from the garden)

1 tsp dried basil (from the garden)

3 cups stock (I used home-made turkey stock, you can use vegetable stock to keep the dish vegetarian/vegan)

1 cup dry orzo

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained

Juice of 1 medium lemon

1 tsp lemon zest

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 – 1 1/4 cups hot water

1/3 cup dry matzoh meal or breadcrumbs (if you use matzoh meal, add a little salt)

2 tsp dried parsley (from the garden)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F.  Lightly coat a 3-quart casserole dish with cooking spray

In a Dutch oven or other large pot, heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat.  Add onions and carrots and cook until softened, about 5 – 7 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.  Add lentils, thyme and basil to the pot and stir to distribute.

Add broth and lemon juice.  Bring the mixture to a simmer.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the chopped broccoli and stir.  Cover and let broccoli soften for 2 – 3 minutes. Remove from heat.  Add the lemon zest, drained tomatoes, salt and pepper.  Stir until well combined.

Pour all the contents into the casserole dish.  Add enough hot water to ensure orzo is covered with liquid.

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the matzoh meal/breadcrumbs, 1 Tbsp olive oil, and parsley in a small

bowl and mix well.

Remove the foil and sprinkle breadcrumbs evenly over the top.

Return to oven and bake, uncovered, for 20 more minutes.  Let sit 5 minutes or so before serving.  Enjoy!

Serves 6.

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• Recipe: Lemony Lentil, Orzo, and Broccoli Bake (Plus, New Beginnings in Old Territory) (moveeatcreate.wordpress.com)
• Broccoli & Garlic Orzo (wareitsmadefromscratch.com)
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