Ingredients

• 250 g dried orzostandard dried, not quick-cook
• 350 g chestnut mushroomssliced
• 35 g butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 garlic clovesfinely grated
• 650 ml hot vegetable stock
• 80 ml double cream
• 60 g Parmesanfinely grated
• 1 tsp thyme leaves
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 3/4 tsp fine salt and plenty of black pepper

Method

1. 01

   Brown the mushrooms

   Heat a wide pan over medium-high for 2 minutes, add the olive oil and the mushrooms in one layer, unsalted. Leave for 2-3 minutes before stirring, then cook for 6-8 minutes until the liquid has gone and the edges are dark. Work in two batches if the pan looks crowded. Season, tip out and reserve.

   1 tbsp olive oil · 350 g chestnut mushrooms

   Brown the mushrooms separatelyWith the orzo they steam and go grey. Dry hot pan first, and the flavour concentrates.

2. 02

   Toast the orzo

   Lower the heat to medium, add the butter and the grated garlic cloves for 20 seconds until fragrant, then tip in the dry orzo and stir for a full minute until the grains smell toasted and a few have turned pale gold. This is what gives the finished dish its nutty backbone.

   35 g butter · 3 garlic cloves · 250 g dried orzo

3. 03

   Cook it like a risotto

   Add the hot stock a ladleful at a time, stirring regularly and waiting for each addition to be absorbed before the next. After 10-12 minutes the orzo should be tender with the faintest bite and the pan should look creamy rather than soupy.

   650 ml hot vegetable stock

   Hot stock, never coldCold liquid stalls it and the starch releases unevenly, which is what makes orzo gluey.

4. 04

   Enrich

   Stir in the cream, Parmesan, 1 tsp thyme and the mushrooms. Loosen with a splash more stock if it has tightened. It should fall slowly from the spoon.

   80 ml double cream · 60 g Parmesan

5. 05

   Finish and serve immediately

   Take off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and a lot of black pepper, and serve while it is still loose and glossy. Orzo keeps drinking liquid off the heat, so stop cooking while it looks slightly wetter than you want it on the plate.

   1 tsp lemon juice

   Serve it looser than looks rightOrzo drinks fast once it stops cooking. Slightly sloppy in the pan is perfect at the table.