Surdyk's Greek Orzo Salad

Very nice pasta salad that I found on Midwest Living's site. Add some meat if you would like a more substantial main dish salad--I added cubed grilled chicken breast to the leftover salad and it was very good. Cook time includes chill time.

• Ready In: 3 hrs 30 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 8  ounces  dried orzo pasta (1 1/4 cups)
• 8  ounces feta cheese (cubed or coarsely crumbled)
• 1  cup  chopped roma tomato
• 1⁄2 cup  chopped pitted kalamata olive
• 1  tablespoon  snipped fresh basil
• 1  tablespoon  snipped fresh flat-leaf parsley

• Dressing

• 1⁄3 cup olive oil
• 3  tablespoons lemon juice
• 1  small garlic clove, minced (I used 2)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon  snipped fresh oregano

• Season with

•  salt & fresh ground pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Cook pasta according package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water and drain again. Put in a large bowl, cover and chill for 1-2 hours.
2. Add feta, tomatoes, olives, basil, and parsley to the chilled pasta and stir to combine.
3. For the dressing, place olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and oregano in a jar with a screw-top lid. Shake vigorously to combine, then pour over pasta mixture and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and ground black pepper.
4. Cover and chill for 2 to 24 hours.