Yasmin Fahr says: Whenever I’m in Greece, my goal is to have a Greek salad or really anything that involves feta as often as possible – you could also argue that I do this when not in Greece. This Greek-inspired dish is my at-home version that gets a bit of a textural crunch and boost of colour from asparagus, for a bright, lemony pasta dish.

Tips: You could also add in some sliced baby plum (grape) tomatoes with the asparagus to make it saucier. Prep the ingredients while you bring the water to a boil and while the orzo is cooking. Use this time to toss the prawns with the oregano.

Serves 2, 4 for sharing

Prep 5 minutes

Total 25 minutes

Ingredients

salt and freshly ground black pepper
200 g (7 oz) orzo
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for the pasta
2 garlic cloves, grated or minced
1/2 teaspoon dried red chilli flakes
250 g (9 oz) asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 2.5 cm (1 in) pieces
10–12 peeled medium prawns (shrimp), deveined (about 450 g/1 lb)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
15 g (1/2 oz) fresh basil or parsley leaves and fine stems, roughly chopped
juice of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
75 g (21/2 oz) feta (preferably Bulgarian), crumbled

Method

Fill a 30 cm (12 in) frying pan (skillet) or flameproof casserole dish (Dutch oven) two-thirds of the way with water, salt to taste like the sea and bring to a vigorous boil over a high heat.

Add the orzo and cook according to package instructions until just shy of al dente, about 7–9 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain into a colander in the sink, then run through with olive oil, using a wooden spoon to stir, and leave in the sink or transfer to a bowl.

Wipe out the frying pan with a paper towel and return to a medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil and heat until shimmering. Add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant but not browned, about 30 seconds.

Add the asparagus, season with salt and pepper and stir to coat.

Cook until the asparagus is tender but retains a crisp bite, about 3–4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, toss the prawns with the oregano to coat. Move the asparagus to the sides of the frying pan and add the prawns. Cook, turning the prawns occasionally, until they are pink and no longer translucent, about 3–4 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium, return the orzo back to the frying pan, along with most of the basil, the lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil and most of the feta, stirring to combine, until the orzo is warmed up, about 1–2 minutes more.

Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed, then top with remaining basil and feta and serve immediately.

From Keeping it Simple by Yasmin Fahr (£16.99, Hardie Grant), out now

Asparagus recipes: fresh dishes to mark the start of UK asparagus season