• 1/2 cup Orzo, a rice shaped pasta
• 1/2 cup corn kernels
• 8-10 spears of asparagus cut into 1-inch pieces, hard/woody ends discarded
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 5-6 shallots, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp tomato pest
• 1/2 cup spinach leaves, packed, roughly chopped
• 3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1/3 cup Mozzarella cheese, small cubes of 1/2 cm
• salt, to taste
• freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 tsp oregano flakes
• 1/4 tsp red chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 cup reserved pasta water

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC / 350ºF. Boil a pot of water with generous sprinkle of salt. Add Orzo, corn kernels and asparagus to the boiling water. Let it boil for 2 minutes and after that save 1/2 cup of water. Drain Orzo, corn kernels, asparagus and set aside.
2. Simultaneously heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add oil to the hot pan and once oil is shimmering, add the shallots, garlic and celery. Cook for 3 minutes or so till shallots turn translucent. Add tomato paste, Orzo, corn kernels, asparagus and cook for 3 more minutes. Off the heat. Immediately mix-in spinach leaves.
3. Add Parmesan, Mozzarella, salt, pepper, oregano, red chilli flakes, lemon zest and pasta water and mix well.
4. Transfer mixture to a small oval or 6×6-inch square ovenproof baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes, then bake for 15 minutes without the foil. (You can change ratio of foil-on to foil-off time as per your preference for crunchy pasta lid.) Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes:

*You can use whole-wheat Orzo or replace Orzo with any other small-sized pasta.
*I used pasta water and did not feel that the dish was lacking in flavor at all. But if you do not like using water then use vegetable stock.