Orzo Summa Domae (Greek Orzo Salad)

Submitted by MsBindy

"The title of this recipe is my attempt at calling it Orzo Delight, in Greek. Hopefully I'm not calling it something inappropriate!! This salad is a colorful orzo salad with a nice crunch. Try it; you'll be sure to enjoy!"

 

• Ready In: 45mins
• Ingredients: 15
• Serves: 5

ingredients

• 8 ounces orzo pasta, uncooked
• 1 large sweet red pepper
• 1⁄4 cup kalamata olive, coarsely chopped
• 1⁄2 cup shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped
• 1⁄3 cup green onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
• 1⁄2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

• Dressing

• 1⁄4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1⁄4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground black pepper

directions

1. Cook orzo per package directions.

2. Roast the red pepper:

3. Quarter the pepper, remove stem and seeds. Broil the pepper skin side up until skins blisters and blackens, about 8-10 minutes.
4. Immediately put the pepper in a bowl, cover it with a lid or plastic wrap, and let stand for 15-20 minutes.
5. Peel off and discard the charred skin.
6. Chop the pepper.
7. Combine the orzo, roasted red pepper, pistachios, green onions, olives, parsley and oregano in a large bowl.
8. Combine all the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl and whisk together.
9. Pour dressing over orzo mixture, tossing gently to coat.
10. Refrigerate.
11. Before serving, crumble 1/2 cup feta cheese over top of salad (or gently combine into salad if you prefer).

Reviews

[Lucky Clover]

I liked this salad but wasn't crazy about it. If I were to make it again, I would cut the dressing down, as I thought it was a tad too strong.

 

[SugaredAlmond]

I started cooking before realising i didn't have pistachio's, so used toasted pine nuts instead. Fantastic!

 

[Kumquat the Cats fr]

Maximally tasty dish. Loved the pistachios, kalamata olives and feta together. (BF is particularly fond of pistachios and kalamata olives, so I knew he would like this too.) Used an extra tablespoon of aged balsamic vinegar because when I got home I discovered I had neither lemons nor lemon juice (grrr, I thought I had both). To fit my usual diet, I lowered amount of olives and pistachios to 1/3 cup each, used low fat feta and used 1 tablespoon olive oil for dressing. Great anyway. Also, to save time and because I prefer fresh peppers to cooked, I just added a fresh chopped red pepper. A delight in every way for sure.

 

[Trisha W]

This was a very enjoyable salad. The balsamic dressing gave an enjoyable flavor to it, making it distictively different from some of the similar recipes.

 

[Smittyanne]

Very tasty! Will make it again.