Orzo Salad | Orzo and Feta Salad – a bowl of sunshine!

There are tons of Orzo salad recipes and this is one of my favourites; it’s a real ‘summer in a bowl’ type dish. Chewy orzo, sharp feta and a warm salad dressing made from the juices of roasted baby plum tomatoes.

I made this for a party when we had some friends from Boston visiting and it was an instant hit (I was secretly testing it out for the first time so was chuffed when I saw people going up for seconds). Our gathering was in the depths of winter but I suspect this orzo salad recipe will be making a few guest appearances in the summer when we want something to go with our BBQ ribs.

Orzo is very big in Greek cooking, sometimes mistaken for a type of rice it is actually small grains of pasta and incredibly versatile (check out my orzo seafood paella).

This Greek recipe is also great as a standalone pasta salad if you fancy something fresh and filling to curl up around.

As I write this post it is cold, drizzling with rain and I just feel like a little sunshine is in order so here’s a bowl of sunshine in the form of my Orzo Salad recipe – enjoy!

Orzo Salad Recipe Ingredients – Serves 6:

300g (about two cups) Orzo pasta

Handful (12) baby plum tomatoes cut in half

200g (or one packet) Feta Cheese

Handful fresh basil torn

Good few glugs of extra virgin olive oil

Juice 1/2 lemon

4 tbl toasted pine nuts

Method:

1. Cook orzo in salted simmering water until just al-dente, drain, rinse and reserve.
2. Meanwhile, put the baby plum tomatoes in a roasting tray and drizzle over with some olive oil and a season. Roast in a preheated oven at 200C for about 15 minutes (check them after 10, you want them to just start to char and melt). Remove and set aside.
3. Pour some more olive oil in with the tomatoes and give them a stir to help break them up a little. Now pour the Orzo pasta into the roasting tray to really coat in all those lovely juices.
4. Pour the whole lot into a nice serving bowl, crumble in the feta, basil leaves, lemon juice and pine nuts, few turns of black pepper and stir. Check seasoning in case it needs any salt, but the feta usually gives enough.
5. You may want to add some more olive oil or lemon juice to your preference.

Serve, eat, enjoy!

Goes well with BBQs, buffets and old friends!