Spinach Cream Orzo

20240212 #breakfastdiary 972, 2°C/mostly clear If you search 'orzo' in Korean, you get a flood of coffee-flavored barley tea with 'orzo' written in big letters. In Italian, orzo means barley, so that tea really is just barley (tea). Meanwhile, pasta shaped like barley (or rice) is called orzo (barley) or risoni (rice) in Italian. Risoni looks rounder, more like rice, while orzo looks a bit more barley-like, but either way both are made from durum wheat. (I got curious how many types of pasta actually exist and asked ChatGPT — apparently too many to count.) Anyway, today's breakfast is #orzo blended with finely ground spinach: #greenongreen #spinachcreamorzo Boil orzo in salted water for about 10 minutes. Drain, transfer to a bowl, and toss with olive oil. Save the pasta water instead of tossing it — you'll need it. Thinly slice 3 cloves of garlic with a mandoline and fry until crisp. Blanch spinach in boiling water, dunk in cold water, squeeze out the liquid, then blend it with the fried garlic and some pasta water. (You want a slightly thick consistency.) Pour the blended spinach into a pan, add the orzo and pecorino cheese. Adjust the consistency with more pasta water as needed, and season with salt. Plate it and top with grana padano. (I layered two cheeses here, but really any of pecorino, grana padano, or parmigiano reggiano works — whatever you prefer.) A generous crack of pepper to finish is just the rule.