You're always asking me for easy vegan main dishes that are delicious and unique and this orzo pasta recipe is not only beautiful to serve to guests but it uses a popular trend involving feta cheese that you can of course make even if you're vegan.
If you've spent any time on social media lately you've probably seen tray afte rtray of blocks of feta drizzled with olive oil, surrounded by delicious veggies like tomatoes and garlic, melted to perfection before tossing with anything your heart desires.
I took it upon myself to make an unusual version of this dish but of course using vegan feta instead.
Does vegan feta melt?
The most delicious vegan feta in the market in my opinion is Violife's Greek style feta called "Just like Feta", and indeed it melts perfectly!
Pop it in a pan and roast it in the oven until melted, as you'll see in today's recipe and you'll get the creamiest Greek style cheesy sauce that will coat anything you wish to pair it with.
The perfect vegan main course recipe
This orzo is such a tribute to the Mediterranean, not only thanks to the delicious plant based feta, but because we're adding delicious, herbs, olive oil, perfectly plump figs, kalamata olives, tomatoes, plus a few finishing touches when plating that will elevate it even more.
It's the perfect mouthfeel and of course one of its two main characters is the orzo pasta itself.
Orzo is the kind of pasta that looks like wide grains of rice. Although there are different ways of cooking it, in today's recipe we're cooking it as you would any type of pasta, boiling it in ample salted boiling water until it's al dente or to the consistency you like in pasta.
Then we toss in all the cheesy goodness that was bubbling and roasting in the oven, add our crunchy toppings and serve.
Without further ado, enjoy the video, printable and recipe below!
PDF RECIPE
ROASTED FIG AND VEGAN FETA ORZO PASTA
Yield: 2-3 servings ⎮ Prep time: 15 minutes ⎮ Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 package vegan feta style cheese (I love Violife's "Just like Feta" cheese)
- 24 cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives
- 6 figs
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- A few sprigs of rosemary
- A drizzle of olive oil
- A few splashes of balsamic vinegar
- A drizzle of maple syrup
- 1 cup dried orzo, cooked according to package directions
For topping:
- Some fresh herbs and toasted pistachios
Directions
1. Pre-heat the oven at 435ºF (225ºC).
2. In a large roasting pan add the block of feta style cheese, the cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives, figs, oregano, rosemary and drizzle everything with olive oil, a few splashes of balsamic vinegar, a drizzle of maple syrup and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.
3. In the meantime, cook the orzo in a pot of salted boiling water according to package directions until it’s cooked to the texture that you like, then drain and set aside.
4. Once the cheese, veggies and figs are out of the oven, mix in your drained orzo to combine with the cheese and all the components.
5. Serve and top with chopped toasted pistachios and some fresh herbs and enjoy!
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