CHEESY ASPARAGUS WITH TOMATO ORZO

(Serves 2)

INGREDIENTS:

120g asparagus spears; 1 brown onion; 40g cheddar cheese; 125g cherry tomatoes; 1 garlic clove; 150g orzo; 15g pine nuts; 50g soft cheese; 11g vegetable stock mix

METHOD:

1. Boil a kettle. Peel and dice your onion, then peel and finely chop the garlic. Chop your cherry tomatoes in half, then trim the woody ends off your asparagus. 2. Dissolve your vegetable stock mix in 500ml boiled water – this is your stock. Grate your cheddar cheese finely. 3. Heat a large, dry, widebased pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add your pine nuts and cook for two to three minutes or until toasted and lightly golden. 4. Return the reserved pan to a medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil. Once hot, add the diced onion with a pinch of salt and cook for four to five minutes or until beginning to soften. 5. Once slightly softened, add the halved tomatoes and chopped garlic and cook for a further four to five minutes or until the tomatoes have softened. Once softened, add your orzo and cook for one minute, stirring to coat the grains. 6. Add the stock to the pan and bring to the boil over a high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, covered, for 12-15 minutes or until cooked through. Once cooked through, stir through your soft cheese and one third of the grated cheese and cook for a final two to three minutes – this is your creamy tomato orzo. 7. When the orzo has seven minutes left, heat a separate, wide-based pan over a mediumhigh heat. Once hot, add the trimmed asparagus and cook for an initial three minutes, then sprinkle over the remaining grated cheese and cook for a further three minutes or until the cheese has melted and begun to crisp up on the bottom this is your cheesy magic asparagus. 8. Serve the creamy tomato orzo in a bowl with the cheesy magic asparagus to the side (crispy side up). Top with the toasted pine nuts and a grind of pepper.