If you ever even utter the words “browned butter” in my presence, you will have my full attention. I just LOVE it. Browning butter is simply cooking butter over high heat until the dairy particles in it begin to toast and get brown. The result is melted butter that begins to foam and is deeply brown in color, and it adds a wonderful nutty, earthy flavor to your recipes. You can use browned butter in cookies. You can use it in spaghetti. Or you can use it in mashed potatoes. It adds a depth of flavor that can’t be beat. The flavor of browned butter is PERFECT with the flavor of the mushrooms in this recipe. And the thyme elevates it to a whole other level. If you’ve never done it before, here’s a great primer on how to brown butter.
Browning butter is very easy, even though it requires attention and constant stirring, but you do want to be careful that you brown it and don’t burn it. After you brown the butter, immediately add the onions and thyme. Adding the onions to the butter will stop the browning process as it will take the temperature down and begin to release some liquid into the butter. Also, at this point, you may just die from happiness at how good your kitchen smells. If you think the smell of onions sautéing in butter is good, just wait until that butter is browned and you add thyme to the mix. HEAVEN. But just you wait, the smell gets better when you add the mushrooms!
Cooking mushrooms is super easy, but there are a few tricks I want to share with you for how to get the best flavor from them. First of all, I recommend using baby portobello mushrooms (AKA cremini mushrooms) rather than standard white mushrooms. They are a bit more flavorful. Finally, when you sauté them, add salt and don’t stir them too frequently. The salt will not only help to season the mushrooms, but will also help to draw the moisture out of the mushrooms. You want as much moisture to be released from the mushrooms and evaporate into steam as possible. When you don’t stir the mushrooms, the moisture has a better chance of evaporating, rather than being re-incorporated into the ingredients. Stir occasionally, in order to ensure all the mushrooms get equal time against the hot pan and to ensure they don’t stick, but don’t do it constantly like you would with other veggies. You’ll know the mushrooms are done when you stir and there is very little to no liquid at the bottom of the pan (after about five minutes or so). You can read more about how to make perfectly browned sautéed mushrooms here!
Once the mushrooms are done cooking, you’ll add the orzo. I like to add it BEFORE adding the liquid, so each piece gets coated in butter and flavor. This will help the texture of the orzo as it cooks and also help the pieces to not stick to each other. I just love orzo. Tiny, rice-shaped pieces of pasta that aren’t rice at all. I also LOVE one-pot pasta recipes. Not only are they easier than other pasta recipes (fewer dishes!), but all the starch that’s released from the pasta stays in the pot, rather than drained away. This one-pot orzo with mushrooms recipe ends up with the browned butter and thyme coating literally every bite, due to the starches released from the orzo thickening everything up. I think this recipe would also be great with rice as a gluten-free alternative. The flavor of wild rice would be delicious paired with the browned butter and mushrooms, and the starchy texture of arborio rice (usually used for risotto) would create a similarly creamy, thick base. If you use rice, just make sure to look at the package for differences in cooking time or liquid to rice ratio.
This One Pot Orzo with Mushrooms, Browned Butter, and Thyme suffices as a meal in itself, but it’s also a great side. I had it on the side of these Crispy Oven-Roasted Chicken Thighs, but it would also pair SO well with lamb shanks. If you like this recipe, you’ll love this recipe for Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms, Manestra (Greek-Style Orzo with Ground Beef), these Italian Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms, this creamy chicken and mushrooms, and this Mushroom Brie Soup. Love one pot pasta recipes? Try this Creamy One Pot Pasta with Sausage and Spinach and this One-Pot Cheesy Taco Pasta.
