Looking for the ultimate post-office dinner to warm the cockles and tantalise the taste buds? This recipe from Julienne Bruno, a new vegan cheeze company, is the one.

Are you looking for the perfect wintry weeknight supper? Want to knock together a warming, satisfying and nourishing dish post-workout? This creamy orzo dish has all the vibes of a risotto, but is ready in half the time it’d take to make one.

It’s full of squash – packed with vitamins A, C and B, as well as potassium, magnesium and manganese. The creaminess comes from plant milk (often fortified with calcium and vitamin D) and Julienne Bruno’s amazing new crematta – a super-fluffy cream cheese made from protein-rich soy and vegan fermentation cultures. Any cream cheese will do (the lighter the better).

If spice isn’t for you, omit the chilli flakes and try finishing this with a zesty pangrattato. Simply toast 100g of panko breadcrumbs (or whizz up a couple of slices of stale bread in your mixer) in a pan with a little olive oil, crushed garlic and lemon zest.

Ingredients

350g mixed squash

Salt and pepper

120ml cashew (or other) milk

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

Chilli flakes (optional)

1 shallot, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

225g orzo

500-600ml stock, warmed

1 tub Julienne Bruno Crematta

½ lemon, juiced

Chilli crisp/ peanut rayu (to finish – optional)

Method

Preheat your oven to 220°C and cut the squash into a mixture of cubes and wedges. 

Roast the squash, seasoned with salt and pepper then tossed in a little olive oil.

Cook for 25-30 minutes tossing half way through. 

Once cooled add to the bowl of a food processor with the milk and a teaspoon of chilli flakes if using. Blitz to a puree.

Fry off the shallot and garlic in a generous pour of olive oil over a medium heat. Cook until translucent, stirring regularly as you don’t want the onion to catch and burn. Add the orzo, stir to coat, season further with salt and pepper.

Add 500ml of the warm stock to the pan, bring to the boil before then simmering for around eight minutes or until the orzo is soft but still retains a slight ‘bite’. 

While cooking, be sure to stir frequently so that the orzo does not stick to the bottom or sides of your pan. Add the rest of the stock at the halfway point to keep the dish from losing too much liquid.

Once the orzo tastes ready, turn the heat to low and mix in the squash puree and a heaping spoon of crematta, stirring well to work the creamy sauce through the starchy orzo and create a silky-smooth finish.

Squeeze over the lemon juice, plate the orzo finished with a wedge of onion squash, a final spooning of crematta and chilli crisp/rayu which gives the perfect fork combination of warm, cool, creamy, crunchy and spicy all in one hit from all the ingredients.

Recipe and image courtesy of Julienne Bruno.

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