Here’s a recipe for those of us who love pasta with a passion but would rather do something else with all the time that sometimes goes into making it: my Lentil Orzo Bake. And, it has a cheesy crust to die for.
This is an easy weeknight casserole that practically cooks itself. Really. No standing over a big pot of boiling water, no constant sauteing and stirring to get the sauce just right. All you need is a saucepan, a baking dish, and a little time to chop some veggies and you’re pretty much on your way to pasta heaven. Even better, this is the perfect brown-bag lunch to make the next workday something to look forward to.
I wanted to add some extra zip to my pasta bake, so I sprinkled into it some smoky garam masala and some cumin. This little trick amps up the pasta without giving it a strong Indian flavor profile — which is exactly how I wanted it. You could leave out the garam masala altogether and you’d still have a pretty great dish.
To top off the pasta, I created this savory, cheesy crust that kicks up the flavor into the stratosphere. And, icing on the cake, it makes this healthy dish rather kid-friendly.
It’s Saturday, all, the best day of the week. And I don’t know about you, but I have big plans for the day, starting with making Desi, Jay, Opie and myself a huge stack of waffles or pancakes, and ending with snuggling on the couch with a movie and a glass of wine.
What are your plans for the weekend?
- 8 ounces dry orzo pasta
- 3 cups cooked brown lentils
- 2 large carrots, finely diced
- 2 large tomatoes, finely diced
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 2 tbsp garlic, use less if you'd rather-- I love lots of garlic in this, minced
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 2 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- For the cheesy breadcrumb topping:
- 1 cup wholegrain breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup coriander or parsley leaves
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- In a large saucepan, heat the 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil.
- Add the onions, carrots, and garlic. Add a pinch of salt and some ground black pepper. Saute, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent.
- Add the lentils, red pepper flakes, garam masala, and cumin. Stir well to mix. Add salt to taste. Let the lentils heat through, then mix in the tomatoes and dry orzo and stir well to mix.
- Pour the mixture into a large 9 by 12 inch baking dish. Add 2 1/4 cups of boiling water. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 30 minutes.
- While the pasta is baking, get the breadcrumb topping ready. Mix the breadcrumbs, yeast, coriander, oil, salt and pepper in a bowl.
- After the pasta has baked for 30 minutes, remove the aluminum foil and sprinkle on the topping evenly.
- Return to the oven and bake another 20 minutes until the breadcrumbs are golden.
Looks good, Vaishali. My weekend plans are to meet up with my knitting buddies at a bar downtown and knit over a bloody mary 🙂 And then other friends are coming over for dinner and I’m making aloo tikki chana chaat for them.
Sounds like a great plan for the weekend, Nupur. And aloo tikki chana chaat– can I come over too. because my mouth’s watering. 🙂
Oh my, this looks good! I especially like the bread crumb topping. You’ve gotta appreciate a good caserole recipe, I look forward to trying it!
I didn’t have orzo so I used couscous instead. Really liked the texture of it in this dish. I had some heirloom carrots that I peeled instead of diced and they added a color flare that was fun. Maybe I haven’t been vegan long enough but the bread crumb topping just didn’t seem cheesy. There is so much flavor in the dish in addition to the cayenne in the topping that neither my husband or I thought it had a cheesy taste. The breadcrumbs just disappeared in all of the other tastes and textures. This was a fun recipe to try. I know I’ll be making it again.
I made this for dinner tonight and it was so good! The recipe made a huge amount for 2 people, so we will happily be eating this over the rest of the week and were even able to put some in the freezer. I’m glad to have found out about whole wheat orzo — I never would have thought to look for it.
This is incredibly delicious and easy to make. Thank you for sharing this.
help! cheesy? there’s no cheese in this topping – is that an error?
Hi Miranda, it’s not real cheese– this is a vegan blog. The yeast gives a cheesy flavor.
i can’t believe i wrote that – i wasn’t paying attention – i’m a nitwit! 🙁
No worries– it happens! 🙂
Is it 3 cups of dry lentils, cooked? Or measure 3 cups after cooked?
Cooked, as the recipe states! 🙂
1/4 cup ground coriander, is that correct?
Coriander or parsley leaves, not coriander seed.