Dijon-dill salmon with crushed potatoes
Roasted salmon, crushed new potatoes and a cool dill sauce.
About 35 min · 495 kcal · 37 g protein per serving
Crab, pea and lemon orzo
Orzo with sweet crab, peas and a great deal of lemon.
By The foodose editorial team. Nutrition calculated from USDA FoodData Central. Checked on paper on 21 September 2026; not yet cooked in a test kitchen or photographed, so the times and yield are estimates. How we develop our recipes
What still needs a real kitchen
- Confirm 120 g orzo cooks tender in 400 ml stock in 9 minutes
- Photograph the finished bowl
- Time
- About 20 min
- estimated
- Serves
- 2
- see below
- Energy
- 435 kcal
- per serving
- Protein
- 30 g
- per serving
Ingredients for 2 servings
Check off ingredients as you go.
Contains crustaceans, gluten. Check the labels on packaged ingredients:
- orzo. Most dry pasta is just wheat and water, but some contains egg; check the packet.
- vegetable stock. Vegetable stock often contains celery, and some contain milk or gluten; check the label, especially if you need it vegan.
Cooking steps
Bring the stock to the boil in a wide pan, add the orzo and simmer for 6 minutes, stirring now and then so it does not stick to the base.
Add the peas and cook for a further 3 minutes, by which time the orzo should be tender and most of the stock absorbed.
Take the pan off the heat completely.
Fold in the crab meat, the oil and the lemon juice, turning everything over rather than stirring, so the crab stays in recognisable pieces.
Finish with the chopped chives and serve at once, while it is still loose.
The useful detail
The crab goes in off the heat and is never cooked again. It is already cooked, and a second round turns the strands stringy and takes away the sweetness you paid for.
Make it work for you
One serving is Half the orzo with 100 g of crab. You can switch to a smaller portion in the ingredients above; it is three quarters of this, and it contains correspondingly less energy and protein. It is an option, not a goal.
Cooked prawns instead of crab
Firmer and in chunks rather than strands, with more protein.
Per serving: about 15 kcal more, about 6 g more protein, about the same fat.
Tinned tuna instead of crab
Much firmer and less sweet. A good deal cheaper.
Per serving: about 5 kcal more, about 2 g more protein, about the same fat.
Small pasta shapes instead of orzo
Chunkier; check it 3 or 4 minutes later.
Per serving: about the same energy, about the same protein, about the same fat.
Estimated nutrition
Per standard serving, calculated from the ingredients above. Nutrition changes with substitutions, brands and how much oil stays in the pan.
A twenty minute dinner where the orzo cooks in stock rather than water, so it carries flavour without needing butter or cream.
| Energy | 435 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 30 g |
| Fat | 9 g |
| of which saturates | 1 g |
| Carbohydrate | 58 g |
| of which sugars | 7 g |
| Fibre | 5 g |
| Sodium | 1,060 mg |
Show calculation notes
Each ingredient’s weight is multiplied by its USDA FoodData Central values per 100 g. The whole recipe is added up and divided by 2. Raw weights are used for meat, fish and vegetables; beans and lentils are drained weights. All of the oil is counted as eaten. Added salt is not included; sodium from stock, bread, cheese and tinned food is.
| Ingredient | Weight used | Source | Energy | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| orzo | 120 g | FDC 169736Pasta, dry, enrichedFoodData Central records dry pasta as one entry rather than by shape. Orzo is the same durum wheat pasta, cut small. | 445 kcal | 15.6 g |
| vegetable stock | 390 g | FDC 171583Soup, vegetable broth, ready to serve | 20 kcal | 0.9 g |
| frozen peas | 150 g | FDC 170016Peas, green, frozen, unprepared (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program) | 116 kcal | 7.8 g |
| cooked crab meat | 200 g | FDC 174205Crustaceans, crab, blue, cooked, moist heat | 166 kcal | 35.8 g |
| olive oil | 14 g | FDC 171413Oil, olive, salad or cooking | 121 kcal | 0.0 g |
| lemon juice | 15 g | FDC 167747Lemon juice, raw | 3 kcal | 0.1 g |
| chives | 10 g | FDC 169994Chives, raw | 3 kcal | 0.3 g |
| Whole recipe | Divided by 2 | 873 kcal | 60.6 g |
Per serving the energy is rounded to the nearest 5 kcal, grams to the nearest whole gram and sodium to the nearest 10 mg. Calculation method 1.0, September 2026. How the calculation works.
Storage and reheating
- In the fridge
- Cool, cover and refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking. Eat within 3 to 4 days. The orzo keeps absorbing and will be stiff the next day; loosen it with stock.
- In the freezer
- The FDA chart gives cooked fish 4 to 6 months in the freezer for best quality.
- Reheating
- Reheat until it reaches 74°C / 165°F, steaming hot throughout.
Checked against US Food and Drug Administration, Refrigerator and Freezer Storage Chart, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Leftovers and Food Safety, FoodSafety.gov, Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures and FoodSafety.gov, Cold Food Storage Chart. UK guidance from the Food Standards Agency is shorter, at two days for most leftovers.
Try another recipe
Cod en papillote with fennel
Cod steamed in parchment with fennel and saffron potatoes.
About 40 min · 300 kcal · 29 g protein per serving