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The index/Weeknight
Weeknight · 30 min

Lemon & White Bean Orzo

This is the pot I make when the fridge has nothing interesting in it. Orzo releases starch like a small Italian arborio, the beans thicken it further, and the lemon goes off the heat so it still tastes of fruit rather than acid.

MRWords by Marcus Reyes · 5 September 2026
Lemon and white bean orzo soup in a cream bowl with herbs and olive oil

Total time

30 min

Serves

4

Level

Easy

Reading

4 min

01

The Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 200g orzo
  • 2 garlic cloves, grated
  • 1.5L chicken or vegetable stock, kept warm
  • 2 cans (400g each) cannellini beans, drained
  • 2 lemons — juice and zest
  • Small bunch parsley, torn

Serves 4 · 30 min in total

Method

  1. 01

    Sweat the onion and carrot in the oil with a good pinch of salt for 8 minutes, until sweet and soft but not coloured.

  2. 02

    Add the orzo and garlic and toast for 2 minutes, until the grains smell faintly of biscuit.

  3. 03

    Pour in about a third of the stock and simmer, stirring often, adding more as it is absorbed, until the orzo is tender and the pot is creamy — around 14 minutes.

  4. 04

    Stir in the beans and lemon juice with most of the zest, then take the pot off the heat and let it thicken for 5 minutes.

  5. 05

    Pile with parsley and the remaining zest, pour over more oil, and season hard.

A note from the kitchen

Make it looser than you think. Orzo keeps drinking stock long after the heat is off.

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