Cheesy magic asparagus with creamy tomato orzo

(SERVES 2) INGREDIENTS

z 120g asparagus spears z 1 brown onion

z 40g cheddar cheese z 125g cherry tomatoes z 1 garlic clove

z 150g orzo

z 15g pine nuts

z 50g soft cheese

z 11g vegetable stock mix

METHOD

1. Boil a kettle. Peel and dice your brown onion, then peel and finely chop or grate your garlic.

2. Chop your cherry tomatoes in half, then trim the woody ends off your asparagus. Alternatively, bend the woody ends of the asparagus until they snap!

3. Dissolve your vegetable stock mix in 500ml of boiled water – this is your stock. Grate your cheddar cheese finely.

4. Heat a large, dry, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) over a medium heat. Once hot, add your pine nuts and cook for two to three minutes or until toasted and lightly golden – watch them like a hawk to make sure they don’t burn! Once golden, transfer the pine nuts to a bowl and reserve the pan.

5. 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.

6. Once softened, add the halved tomatoes and chopped garlic and cook for a further four to five minutes or until the tomatoes have softened. Add the orzo and cook for one minute, stirring to coat the grains.

7. Add the stock to the pan and bring to the boil over a high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to mediumlow and cook, covered, for 12-15 minutes or until cooked through. Stir the orzo occasionally to stop it from sticking.

8. Once cooked, 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.

9. When the orzo has seven minutes left, heat a separate, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) over a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the trimmed asparagus and cook for 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.

10. Serve the creamy tomato orzo in a bowl with the cheesy magic asparagus to the side, crispy side up. Top with toasted pine nuts and a generous grind of black pepper.