Dilly Mac 'n Cheese

The minute I saw that big bunch of fresh dill in my CSA box I couldn't wait to get home and make one of my favorite mac 'n cheese variations. With just three main ingredients, this recipe is so easy you can whip it up in a few minutes more than it takes to boil pasta.

Dilly Mac 'n Cheese makes a great vegetarian main dish; just add a salad. Omnivores might like it as a side dish with chicken or fish. It's a particularly good complement for lemony flavors so you might want to use a lemon vinaigrette on your salad or lemon pepper or a lemony piccata sauce on your chicken or fish. Whatever you decide to do, I'm sure you're going to enjoy this quick and tasty dish.

1 lb orzo pasta
1 large bunch fresh dill
3/4 - 1 lb feta cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring a pot of water to boil and cook orzo per directions on package.

2. While waiting for the water to boil (or while orzo is cooking), trim the stems off the dill and compost them. Chop the dill finely and set aside.

3. Crumble the feta and set aside.

4. When the orzo is done cooking, quickly drain it well. Do not rinse. Return it to the hot pan (but don't turn on the heat). Add the crumbled feta and chopped dill. Stir until the cheese melts and everything is well mixed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

You can use a different pasta shape if you'd like, but I find that orzo works especially well for this dish.

I like this dish on the cheese-y side, but you can add more or less cheese, or dill for that matter, to taste.

Feta cheese can be somewhat salty so taste before adding salt.

You can doll up this dish by adding chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Sometimes I grate a little bit of lemon zest into it for extra zing. In the summertime when my garden is overrun with zucchini squash, I'll thinly slice and saute some zucchini and stir it in with the cheese and dill.

Enjoy!

Shelley