MEDITERRANEAN ORZO SALAD RECIPE
A Mediterranean Orzo Salad Recipe that will transport you across the Atlantic with every bite. This orzo pasta salad with a mixture of creative ingredients also makes a wonderful pasta side dish.
It’s the blend of herbs and olives and just a touch of lemon zest to bring out the perfect hint of the Southern region of Italy, that make this Italian pasta recipe AMAZING!
Orzo is a pasta shaped similarly to rice but flat. It makes the perfect pastina, or tiny pasta, for an Italian pasta salad and is an excellent pasta for Italian pasta soups recipes.
Although I used this Italian pasta salad as a pasta side dish I could have just as easily eaten a bowl of it all by myself for dinner. YUM!
Orzo Salad Recipe Ingredients:
- 1 lb orzo pasta cooked al dente.
- ½ cup sundried tomatoes, julianne or chopped
- ¼ cup of mixed, pitted olives, chopped
- ¼ lb of feta cheese. French or Greek
- 4 sprigs of fresh oregano leaves, chopped
- zest of one lemon
- the juice of a ¼ of a lemon
- 3 crushed garlic cloves
- 3 table spoons of sundried tomato oil
- ¼ cup of olive oil
- tablespoon of kosher salt
- freshly cracked pepper
- radicchio leaves for serving cups, placed in bowls
Orzo Salad Recipe Cooking Instructions:
Cooking your orzo is easy and fast. Keep an eye on it because it should be al dente just like in all your Italian pasta recipes. I like to boil the water in advance and cook the orzo pasta. When it's finished I rinse in cold water and drain. Toss with a little olive oil and set aside.This is also a perfect time to use the oil from the sun dried tomatoes. Toss it right in with the pasta and allow to sit and absorb the smokey flavor of the sun dried tomato oil.
HINT: If you are serving this as a cold pasta side dish you can place in the refrigerator to chill before you add the rest of the ingredients.
The rest is easy!
Chop, crush and prepare the rest of your ingredients then mix them into your orzo pasta. The zest of the lemon really pulls it all together. The oregano adding the slightest memory of Southern Italy and the smokiness of the sun dried tomatoes are MA MA MIA, FANTASICO.
Orzo pasta is my go to pasta shape for Italian pasta salad recipes so stay tuned for more delicious and amazing recipes unlike any you'll find on the net.
Vivere, Amare, Ridere e Mangiare Bene
Live, Love, Laugh and Eat Well!
Kira Volpi
Do you have a pasta recipe to share? Just like this orzo salad recipe I will post it right here on this site for a whole page dedicated to your Italian pasta recipe.
ITALIAN PASTA SALAD RECIPES
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