Like Rice, Only Better!

Sometimes we sit and wonder, is it weird to have a favorite shape of pasta?  We decided that probably it's weird, but we're accepting of that fact.

For instance, orzo pasta is one of the best shaped pasta there is.  Craving rice, but really want pasta?? Heck, have some orzo, it's the best of both worlds.

A couple other advantages of orzo: it makes for a nice variation in items like pasta salad, it holds dressing well, and it makes it easy for other flavors to show up without overwhelming (if that makes sense).

One of our favorite recipes is this amazing Mediterranean Orzo Salad.Make sure you let the flavors blend.  This makes a lot so it's a perfect treat for sharing!!

Mediterranean Orzo Salad
8 oz uncooked orzo pasta
¼ c toasted walnuts (see notes for toasting hints)
6-8 oz crumbled feta cheese (we used Mediterranean herbed feta)
½ c pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped
6 oz baby spinach
1/2 c chopped onion (we used Vidalia)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp stone ground mustard
Pinch dried basil (can substitute with fresh basil)
Pinch dried tarragon (can substitute with fresh tarragon)
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the orzo in lightly salted water. When pasta is al dente, remove from heat. Rinse with cold water to stop the pasta from cooking further.

Take half of the spinach and purée it in a food processor or blender, adding one tablespoon of the olive oil. Roughly chop the other half of the spinach. In a large serving bowl mix the spinach purée olive oil mixture in with orzo until the pasta is well coated with the purée.

Mix in the remaining spinach, red onion, feta, walnuts, and olives.

Combine 1 Tbsp olive oil, vinegars, lemon juice, mustard, basil, and tarragon (you can do this in a jar, or whisk them together in a small bowl). Pour over orzo spinach mixture and mix in until salad is covered.

Chill for at least an hour before serving (we found chilling overnight is even better).

Notes:


Toasting nuts is easy… place nuts in a dry, heated sauté pan and stir until the nuts have browned a bit (if you go too far the nuts will start getting a burnt taste … so don’t over toast). Alternatively, if you feel like heating up the oven, you can place nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast until browned (it’s the middle of a heat wave in NC, we didn’t feel like heating up an entire oven, so we chose to stovetop toast).


The original recipe calls for toasted pine nuts, you can also use pecans, almonds or pistachios for different flavors and textures.


If you’re substituting fresh herbs for dried, the standard conversion is for every tsp. of dried herb you use, you would use 1 Tbsp. of fresh herb.


If you’re not an olive fan, you’re welcome to leave them out… if you are an olive fan mix it up some, grab a variety of olives from the olive bar!!


Feel free to sub out any of the acids (the vinegars and/or lemon juice) with alternate flavors (use red wine vinegar, rice vinegar, cider vinegar, etc.). Make it taste the way you want to.