Greek Orzo Salad

"This is a more exciting spin on a side dish I had at a restaurant once. I eat this for lunch all by itself! If you're serving this to a group of people, since everyone likes their salad a little differently, I suggest having a small bowl of crumbled Feta, some lemon juice, and a small bowl of chopped Kalamata olives. That way everyone can change it up and customize it!"
 
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photo by PaulaG photo by PaulaG
photo by PaulaG
Ready In:
20mins
Ingredients:
10
Yields:
2 1/2 cups
Serves:
4
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ingredients

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directions

  • -Put a large pot on to boil. Once it reaches a boil, salt the water generously.
  • -While you're waiting for the water to boil; chop your vegetables and parsley, crumble your Feta (unless you bought it pre-crumbled, I do), and juice your lemons. (You could also do this beforehand but I'm a huge multitasker).
  • -Boil the orzo for 5-7 minutes, make sure to pay attention to it's doneness because if you overcook it the salad won't have the correct texture.
  • -Once the orzo is soft all the way through, shock it in ice-water, drain and put in a large mixing bowl.
  • -Add the extra virgin olive oil and immediately stir it in well so the orzo doesn't stick to itself.
  • -Add all of the vegetables, feta cheese, lemon juice (sparingly at first, make sure you don't make it too lemony; you can add more later!), parsley and a dash or salt and pepper. Stir well to combine everything evenly.
  • -Put the salad into a sealable container or cover the top of your bowl with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator and let sit for at least an hour!
  • -This should stay good for 3-5 days! Enjoy!

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Reviews

  1. This is probably my favorite recipe of all the recipes I make. Be sure not to cook the pasta more than 5 min, even though the box says 9. I add pine nuts which makes the recipe even more delicious. If everything was already finely diced or chopped when you started, it would only take 20 minutes. But there's no way you can do all that chopping in 15 minutes. It takes me 1:15 to make this, but that includes some clean up time. I love that this is so fresh and doesn't have a heavy dressing (or really any dressing) on it. Just the crisp, fresh, flavorful ingredients in a refreshing combination. I really love this.
     
  2. Very good! It needed no alterations.
     
  3. This made a delicious side with recipe #357743. I did reduce the amount of olives but stayed pretty true to the recipe after that. I made it a couple of hours before serving and allowed it to chill and the flavors blend. Made for *PAC Spring 2009*
     
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Tweaks

  1. Added pine nuts. Leave out parsley.
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Well, my dad was a chef for 23 years and now he's a kitchen manager. My mother is an extraordinary home chef with many talents! My parents both inspired me to be a chef! I'm going to be attending culinary school once I get to Denver. I'm self-taught in pastry and cookery (besides what my parents taught me, which is A LOT!). I make custom cakes and goodies for friends and co-workers. I hope to have my own bakery one day and my boyfriend is well on his way to having his own restaurant in Denver!
 
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