Pesto Orzo with Roasted Courgette & Feta

Ingredients

• 300 g orzo
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 courgettes, diced into 2cm chunks
• 4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 500 ml hot vegetable stock
• 3 tbsp green pesto, jarred
• 150 g feta, crumbled
• 100 g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 20 g fresh basil, torn
• ciabatta, to serve
• rocket salad, to serve

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a wide, deep pan over high heat. Add the courgette in a single layer — don't crowd it, work in two batches if your pan is on the smaller side, because crowded courgette steams and goes grey instead of catching gold. Cook for 4–5 minutes without stirring, until the undersides are deep golden and the edges are starting to char. Season generously with salt and pepper, toss once, give it another minute, then tip onto a plate.
2. Drop the heat to medium and add the sliced garlic and chilli flakes to the same pan. Cook for 30 seconds, just until fragrant and pale gold — don't burn it, or the whole orzo turns bitter and there's no rescuing it. The chilli flakes will bloom in the warm oil at the same time, going from dusty to fragrant in under a minute.
3. Tip in the orzo and stir for 1 minute to toast it in the oily, garlicky pan — you want it smelling nutty and looking faintly golden. This is the difference between orzo that tastes of itself and orzo that tastes of starch.
4. Pour in the hot stock, season the liquid with a good pinch of salt — the orzo cooks in this stock the way pasta cooks in well-salted water, and it's your only chance to season the grain itself. Bring to a steady simmer and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the orzo is al dente and most of the liquid has been absorbed into a loose, creamy sauce. Splash in a little extra water if it tightens up too quickly.
5. Take the pan off the heat. Stir through the pesto, the lemon zest, the lemon juice and half the feta — off the heat matters, because boiling pesto goes dull and army-green. The residual warmth melts the feta into a glossy coating without splitting it.
6. Fold the golden courgette back in along with the halved cherry tomatoes, gently so the courgette holds its shape and the tomatoes keep their shine. Taste now — adjust the salt and pepper, maybe another squeeze of lemon if it needs lifting. Adjust at the pan, not at the table.
7. Scatter over the remaining feta and torn basil. Bring the warm ciabatta and rocket salad to the table alongside the pan, tear the bread for mopping, and pile the rocket next to each serving so it wilts gently against the hot orzo.