If you want to microwave orzo pasta, rather than boiling it, then that’s straight forward and easy to do.  I never boil orzo on the stovetop, I always use the microwave to cook it.

What you need is a deep microwaveable dish. As the orzo cooks, it will “bubble up”, raising the water level.   Apart from that, there’s not a lot else to it!

To Microwave Orzo, you Need: 

• A deep microwave dish
• Boiling water (although you can use the microwave to boil the water!)
• 75 grams of orzo per portion
• A splash of oil and a sprinkling of salt.

Method:

1. Tip the orzo pasta into your dish, add the oil and salt and cover it with boiling water, so the water level’s above the orzo, but you’re not filling the dish.
2. Microwave on full power for 2 minutes.
3. Give the orzo a stir and top up with more water as required.
4. Microwave on full power for another 2 minutes – then stir and top up the water as required.  Repeat until you’ve cooked the orzo for about 6 minutes in total.
5. Check it by biting into one piece of orzo, to check it’s al dente … and serve.  If it’s still a little hard in the middle, just microwave a little longer.

Strain and serve.

I’ve used orzo today to serve as a rice substitute, to serve with some chicken and sauce.  In the summer I might use orzo, cold, as a base for a salad dish – if you’re going to do that, then rinse the orzo through with cold water until it’s cooled, then pop it in a lidded container in the fridge.