Orzo, rissoni, whatever you call it, rice-shaped pasta is great!

I love this pasta because it's like having two starches at the same time. And let's face it: the rice shape makes it so much easier to eat than other pasta shapes. Here's a recipe Mel made last night.

1 ¼ cups walnut pieces
good olive oil
2 cups orzo
170 g (6 oz) firm feta, crumbled
2 quarters preserved lemon, sliced (see below)
rocket leaves (didn't have this on hand, but results were fine without)
sea salt and pepper (what's with this sea salt lately in so many recipes??)

Heat a little olive oil in a pan over medium heat and fry the walnuts until golden.
Cook the orzo in boiling salted water for 11 minutes. Drain and place in a warm serving bowl. Sprinkle over the feta, the preserved lemon and walnuts. Top with a good handful of rocket leaves and drizzle with olive oil. Grind over some black pepper and serve immediately.

The recipe is from a book lent to me by Dennis, another colleague of mine. Don't you appreciate these men who cook? Dennis is best known for the cakes he bakes and brings to work. One has become a Forbes Family Favorite, and we refer to it simply as "The Dennis Cake". I'll post the recipe one of these days.

**WARNING on the preserved lemon: MIX WELL! Last night Mel made this again, but some of us got more preserved lemon than we would have liked. In some recipes I've seen instructions to rinse the lemon first.