Baked Orzo With Artichokes and Peas Recipe (2024)

This rocks. Martha Rose Shulman is my hero. Please no one tell her I used jarred artichokes and frozen peas...but if you do, tell her it was still delicious.

I always read the comments before making the recipe as there are often helpful tips. But, to you two mean girls, criticizing others for making substitutions, obviously you couldn’t have known that there could be a pandemic, but here we are. Exactly. In the middle of a pandemic. Ingredients in short supply. So, if someone has no peas in the freezer, and substitutes asparagus, or spinach, say “glad that turned out well”, if you have to say anything.

You can save yourself a lot of time preparing the artichokes and get just the very best part by purchasing Roland's artichoke bottoms. They are not marinated so you get just the wonderful artichoke flavor. https://tinyurl.com/y2rstb2e

I wasn't sure I was going to like this but it was wonderful. The olive oil bechamel did not dry out for myself and I used canned artichokes which came out great.

I made this recipe for a crowd, doubling it. This time, I swapped out the peas for asparagus, sliced fine on the bias. I added a bunch of lemon zest and found that to be a very welcome addition. I used frozen artichokes which were a great time-saver. Honestly, I preferred the asparagus version to the peas version, though both are great.

Very nice, and will make this again. I will say though that I measured the orzo by weight, not volume, and 3/4 lb of orzo was more like 2-1/3 cups and not 1-2/3 cups (I used DeLallo Orzo #65). And I broke my own "don't mess with it the first time" rule and used some fresh oregano simply because I didn't have any dill on hand. Not to mention I didn't bother straining out the shallots from the finished bechamel.

Increased peas to full cup, no complaints. It does seem silly not to use the whole box of orzo, but I did weigh it out, and the pasta/sauce ratio is heavenly that way. Will definitely make again but probably with frozen artichoke hearts (pre-cut & processed). Be mindful of salting the individual components - assembly of them all can be too salty if not watching closely. Also left shallots in the bechamel sauce instead of straining them out - highly recommend.Very tasty!

I made this after reading the comments and suggestions. I used the orzo I had on hand, which was 1.5 cups. Used a can of artichoke hearts and frozen peas (put in the hot mixture straight from the bag). Added zest of about 1/3 lemon, a few red pepper flakes, and a combo of gouda and Romano cheese (probably a bit more than 2 oz). Baked 17 minutes instead of 30. Creamy perfection!

I enjoyed the Bechamel sauce and my dish did not turn out dry. The dish wasn't as heavy as some baked pastas. I think next time I would use tarragon instead of dill and add some lemon zest.

Using an online calculator, I get 432 calories per serving, 13.5 g of fat, and 225 mg sodium.

Wonderful, and with short cuts a great weeknight dinner. The bechamel took some time to make, around 40 minutes all in, but then we used a can of artichoke hearts and pre-shelled peas and so it came together quickly after that. Eyeballed the herbs and probably used more than called for, but we were happy with the balance. Added some lemon juice when mixing up and next time would add some capers and make a topping of breadcrumbs, lemon zest, and parmesan before baking.

I love dill. i used fresh dill from my garden but 2TABLESPOONS is more than I have ever seen in any recipe. I used about 1tsp and there was still a lot of dill flavor.

Instructions in recipe are vague and confusing. Next time I will just steam my artichoke as I normally do and strip to the heart or use commercial artichoke hearts instead of trying to understand this clumsy method of preparation. We were able to get it together and it was tasty but it a bit dry. Will attempt again as the flavors were sublime.

I'd use canned artichokes. I rated this two stars, and it's not the Times' fault, I probably screwed up the artichokes, but they were tough and papery and really ruined the whole dish. I'd have given it four, tops, if they were tender. The effort to reward ratio on this is all out of whack. I'd not make it again.

Wasn’t wild about this

I thought this bore a regrettable similarity to tuna casserole. Family liked, but that is not a personal favorite. Probably won’t make again.

This turned out a bit bland and dry, and then I realized that the directions never instructed to add the lemon juice. I think that would make the dish!

Deducting a star because of how labor intensive this was. The flavor was just ok; my dubiousness of artichokes has been affirmed.

Overly complicated recipe with lots of dirty dishes. I did not strain the bechamel. I used two cans of artichoke hearts but otherwise followed the recipe. It came out kind of dry. I weighed the pasta at 12 oz and it was almost exactly two cups. Not sure I will make again.

My dish ended up dry, and while I love all the ingredients, its whole was not equal to the sum of its parts. I love the easiness of it and will try again with some tweaks, perhaps by making a double batch of the béchamel or spicing and herbing it up a bit more.

The directions for the artichoke were super vague - I am sure I did it wrong. Wish I just used canned artichoke, and would do that next time

No fresh dill, so used 2 tsp. dried dill. Taste came thru very well. Don't do milk so used soymilk. Probably not as creamy, but was still delish. I measured orzo on a scale using grams. Came out perfect for amount of Bechamel. LOVE the olive oil bechamel. May never go back to the other way.

Nothing special for the work it required. I used fresh artichokes and it was a hassle taking them apart for a dish that overpowered their taste. I subbed peas for asparagus which was good, and I added breadcrumbs on top to add another texture. If I make again, I’ll use jarred or canned artichokes

Delicious. After reading the comments I jazzed it up a little with chopped olives, feta and red pepper flakes. I also subbed half the milk with almond milk and 1/4 of the orzo with cooked brown rice to make it a bit healthier. I don’t like dill so left it out.

I used canned artichokes and frozen peas, as others have noted. Otherwise I made this as directed. It was fairly dry when it came out of the oven—the orzo absorbed all the sauce, though I had cooked it to al dente as the directions indicate. It did have good flavor, though— the dill was a nice touch.

I think the nutrition information on this recipe might be off. I ran it through a different calculator (including the ingredients for the bechamel) and came up with a much lower calorie count per serving (still assuming 6 servings).

Since we are vegan I used almond milk instead. And I used marinated artichokes as I didn't have the time to prepare fresh ones. Turned out really good. Next time, I will make more sauce as it was just enough, though a wee bit more would have been nicer. Will definitely do it again though..

really loved this recipe. a quick note. the artichokes are trash. prepared them as the recipe called for, and maybe we’re simply bad at artichokes, but wow. they were trash. improvised and used a can of chickpeas instead, threw all of the cooked artichokes in the trash where they belong. otherwise, great recipe. maybe we just abhor artichokes, i dunno. but you can’t really go wrong with bechamel and orzo either, so 8/10. deducting 2 points for artichokes

As is true with many of the pasta dishes in NY Times recipes, there was too much orzo because it overwhelms the vegetables. Next time I will use half and use more artichokes - frozen will do fine.