Garlic Butter Prawn Orzo

close up shot of garlic butter orzo in large white plate with silver fork

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

This orzo is loaded with juicy prawns and wrapped in a silky garlic butter sauce. It's also all made in one pot!

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian, Western

Servings:

Calories: 649kcal

Author: Chris Collins

Cost: £3 / $4

Equipment

Large Deep Pan & Tongs
Wooden Spoon
Small Bowl & Kitchen Roll (for prawns)
Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
Fine Cheese Grater

Ingredients

500g / 1lb Raw Peeled King Prawns/Shrimp (see notes)
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
4 tbsp / 60g Unsalted Butter
4 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
400g / 2 cups Uncooked Orzo
1 - 1.125 litres / 4 - 4.5 cups Chicken Stock, plus more as needed
3 tbsp finely diced Fresh Parsley, plus more to serve if desired
20g / 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more to serve if desired
1 Lemon, quartered to serve

Instructions

Pat the prawns dry to remove excess moisture (this will help them caramelise in the pan more efficiently). Combine in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Place a large deep pan over high heat. Once the pan is hot add in half of the prawns. Quickly spread them out and leave them to fry for 1 minute. Use tongs to flip them over then leave for a further minute. Remove them from the pan and repeat with the second batch. Ensure they don't completely curl to an 'O' shape as this means they're overcooked. They'll carry on cooking as they rest and when added back to the orzo. Just focus on getting a bit of colour on both sides.
Lower the heat to medium and melt in 3 tbsp of butter (save the final tbsp for later). Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds or so, just before it starts to brown. Stir in the orzo, then pour in 1 litre/4 cups of the stock. Give it a good stir then bring it to a simmer. Turn the heat down slightly and simmer until the orzo is al dente and the sauce has thickened to a risotto-style consistency, stirring occasionally. If the sauce dries out before the orzo has cooked, just stir in more stock a splash at a time. If you run out of stock just use boiling water.
Stir in the parsley, parmesan and cooked prawns (alongside any resting juices). Stir in the final tbsp of butter until it blends through the orzo, then check for seasoning and adjust if needed.
Serve individual portions with more parsley & parmesan if desired, alongside a squeeze of lemon juice to taste.

Video

Notes

a) Prawns - Most pre-packed prawns will come ready to cook (deveined etc). You can use frozen, just make sure you thaw them first. General rule of thumb: 'hangs straight' (raw), 'C shape' (cooked) and 'O shape' (overcooked). They won't need long at all, especially since they'll carry on cooking as you toss them through the orzo.

b) Orzo Consistency - You want the orzo to still be a touch hard and there still to be a slight excess of sauce before adding in the prawns/parmesan/butter etc. By the time everything has been stirred through you should reach the perfect consistency of sauce and texture of orzo. The consistency is very easy to adjust by slowly stirring in more stock.

c) Garlic - I typically go for 4 quite large cloves and find the final result garlicky enough. I have gone up to 6 cloves before, so feel free to add a couple more if you love garlic!

d) Lemon - This is essential to finish the dish. It brightens up the flavours and cuts through the richness of the butter/stock. Plus prawns love lemon! As does garlic, parsley and butter.

e) Calories - Whole recipe divided by 4 without extra parmesan.

Nutrition