Ptitim

September 24, 2009 - 8:25 PM by Jessica

Heart-shaped ptitim by Osem

Heart-shaped ptitim by Osem

I’m having a love affair with ptitim. I’m calling it orzo, actually, the Italian name for this rice-shaped pasta, but given that I live in Israel, no one’s letting me get away with that term. You see, orzo, or ptitim, is a staple of the Israeli school lunch menu, the steady side dish to the chicken schnitzel, served with a generous dollop of ketchup. So even when I serve it up with roasted peppers and zucchini and a grating of parmesan, the kids — and, usually, the adults — say, “Oh, ptitim…” But then they eat it up.

According to Janna Gur in ‘The Book of New Israeli Food,’ this Israeli toasted pasta now comes in many shapes, including stars, loops and hearts, but originally was shaped like grains of rice. It first came on the market in the fifties and was dubbed ‘Ben-Gurion rice’ after Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion. It seems that Ben-Gurion was the one to come up with the idea to manufacture a substitute for rice, which was in major demand but short supply during those years of rationing. Another version of that same story is that immigrants from the East dubbed the rice-shaped pasta after Ben-Gurion because they were unhappy with their rice rationing.

A handful of orzo

A handful of orzo

In any case, ptitim are now known as Israeli couscous — not Israeli orzo — and this lunchroom fave has since been rediscovered as a versatile carb that can be boiled like pasta or first fried with onions and then cooked in boiling water or stock.

Here’s how I’m cooking them:
1. Roast a few of your favorite vegetables; I like a combo of colorful peppers and zucchini. For me, roasting involves slicing up said veggies into strips, tossing them with a few tablespoons of olive oil and kosher salt, and baking at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes.
2. In the meantime, cook your ptitim/orzo as you would pasta.
3. Toss your cooked ptitim and veggies together; grate some parmesan on top for some extra flavor.

And here’s a similar orzo recipe from writer Barbara Kingsolver, who has to come up with many ways to use up her bumper crop of zucchini, as written in ‘Animal, Vegetable, Miracle:’

Disappearing Zucchini Orzo
3/4 lb. pkg orzo pasta
1 chopped onion, garlic to taste
3 large zucchini
olive oil for saute
thyme
oregano
1/4 cup grated parmesan or any hard yellow cheese

Bring 6 cups of water or chicken stock to a boil and add pasta. Cook 8 to 12 minutes. Drain. Use a cheese grater to shred zucchini, saute briefly with chopped onion and garlic until lightly golden. Add spices to zucchini mixture, stir thoroughly, and then remove mixture from heat. Combine with cheese and cooked orzo, salt to taste, serve cool or at room temperature.

B’teavon. Enjoy your orzo.

Tags: , , , , • Category: Food, History and Culture, Israeliness 

Comments

3 Comments on Ptitim

  1. Bhalchandra on Fri, Sep 25th 2009 4:38 AM

    2. This is very good.
    In Maharashtra State in India it is called GAVALAY.
    It is cooked with milk and sugar for auspicious occasions.

  2. Jessica on Fri, Sep 25th 2009 1:30 PM

    3. I noticed that in a blog with recipes. That may be my next experiment.

  3. Ptitim | JewPI on Tue, Oct 27th 2009 4:56 AM

    4. [...] rice-shaped pasta, but given that I live in Israel, no one’s letting me get away with that term. Read More » Share and Enjoy:Tags: Israel, italian name, love affair, orzo, rice shaped pastaIsraelity [...]

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