leek chickpea arugula orzo
episode 1 of "cheap fancy"
It’s no secret that the economy is…not doing well at the moment. Grocery prices, while they have been high ever since the pandemic, are only going to get even higher now. But, that doesn’t mean you have to go back to your college days diet of ramen noodles (no shade, I love ramen). So, I’ve started a new series on social media all around meals that feel elevated but don’t cost a lot of money! First up: Chickpea, Leek, & Arugula Orzo.
A core tenet of affordable cooking is leaning on ingredients like beans, grains, and cooking seasonally. So this dish incorporates 1 leek, canned chickpeas, orzo pasta, some lemon, and some sour cream/creme fraiche/anything creamy really. And that’s all! If you have some of these ingredients already, it becomes extremely cheap, but even if you don’t it comes out to about $3-$4 per serving!
In the recipe below, i’ll be including approximate prices, as well as cheaper alternatives for certain ingredients!
the full recipe:
serves: 3-4
Ingredients
1 tbsp butter or oil
1 leek, white & light green parts only, sliced into half-moons, rinsed
1 cup Orzo, uncooked (or another small pasta shape)
1.5-2 cups water
2 tbsp creme friache or sour cream
3 cups arugula, roughly chopped
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 lemon, juiced
1.5 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
cracked black pepper
Chives, thinly sliced (optional)
Tools
large pot/dutch oven
can opener
Steps
Melt 1 tbsp butter in a large pan or pot over medium heat and add the sliced leeks with a small pinch of salt. Stir and sweat these down for a few minutes until they begin to soften and become a bright green color. Push the leeks to the sides of the pan.
Add 1 cup of orzo to the center of the pan and stir to combine with the leeks and lightly toast over medium-low heat. Then, add 1.5-2 cups of water (or broth if you have it) along with 1.5 tsp salt and black pepper and stir to combine. Simmer and continue stirring for 5-10 minutes until orzo is al dente.
Turn the heat to low, then stir in 2 tbsp of creme fraiche or sour cream and fold in the drained chickpeas.
Stir in 3 cups chopped arugula until it begins to wilt and fully combine with the pasta.
Serve hot and garnish with flakey salt, more cracked pepper, and/or chopped chives.
Treat the cooking of this orzo as you would treat risotto. The more you stir while its cooking, the creamier it becomes.
Add the chickpeas and arugula when the orzo is just below al dente, to avoid overcooking.
Orzo - If you can’t get orzo, any small pasta shape will work. In some cases, short grain rice could work, though it will require more liquid and a longer cook time.
Canned Chickpeas - To make this even cheaper, you can always purchase dry beans and cook them yourself, though that will take more time. Alternatively, you could also use white beans.
Creme Fraiche/Sour Cream - Creme fraiche can be expensive, so sour cream does the trick here just fine. But if you don’t have either, any creamy element would work. A dash of heavy cream, a small scoop of plain yogurt, etc.
Water - Using water in this recipe keeps it low-cost, but if you have chicken or vegetable broth or stock, feel free to use it!
I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you try it, please comment below or tag me on social media!