Community Pick
Confetti Orzo Salad
"This is from my 365 Pasta Recipes cookbook, but I changed the original recipe quite a bit. Food should be attractive and this dish is really pretty and colorful. And easy to make! Cut the veggies really tiny. This is a great dish for work lunches because it is good hot or cold."
photo by Jonathan Melendez
- Ready In:
- 20mins
- Ingredients:
- 11
- Serves:
-
4-6
ingredients
- 1 1⁄2 cups orzo pasta (or other small pasta shape)
- 1⁄3 cup olive oil (I use a lot less)
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1⁄2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 carrot, diced finely
- 1 1⁄4 cups bell peppers (red, green and yellow)
- 1⁄4 cup red onion, diced (about 1/2 small onion)
- 1⁄4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
directions
- Cook orzo in plenty of boiling water until tender, 10-12 minutes. Drain.
- Whisk oil, lemon juice, zest, salt, pepper, and garlic until blended.
- Toss all of the ingredients together. Serve hot or cold.
Questions & Replies
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Reviews
-
Everybody that I have made this for like this. I've made this a couple of times already with different types of pasta. One time I added in some olives and shredded chicken for protein,another time tomatoes. I always use less oil than called for, maybe 1/8 of a cup. -
This was really delicious. I too used less olive oil maybe an 1/8th of a cup and just the juice and zest of one lemon -didnt bother measuring. I also grated the carrot as my husband will pick them out if I don't. Nice salad to go along with our burgers tonight. -
This looked really pretty, I made it the day before so the flavors could intensify. Just not nearly enough flavor for us though. -
A wonderfully refreshing salad. What I liked the best was how mellow the tastes were. I reduced the oil to 1/4 cup and served it cold. I will definitely use this recipe again and might try adding different veggies to see how it tastes. Thank you for sharing! -
Made this just as written and it turned out so delicious! It was light and perfect for dinner since it's been so hot lately. I like how versatile it is and you can really add whatever veggies you have on hand! Can't wait to make it again.
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Tweaks
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My first ever orzo recipe. I left out the carrots; used less bell pepper; yellow onion instead of red & dried parsley rather than fresh. I added tomato, cucumber, & green peas. After tossing the salad with dressing, I thought the taste was rather bland, so I added some feta cheese as suggested in some other reviews and that was just the right ingredient to rev up the flavor. -
I followed the reviews' advice and only used 2 tablespoons of olive oil. I used extra lemon juice, since I like it tangy. I also used scallions instead of red onion. The amount of bell peppers is the perfect amount to make sure you have a bit of a bite in every forkful if you mince it small, like the recipe recommends. I think I'll toss in some simple broiled salmon to make it a full meal next time. -
This makes a very attractive dish as well as generous servings. I used 2 tablespoons oil for half a recie which was plenty. As Susie D did, I used cilantro in place of the parsley. It has a nice blending of flavors and was served at room temperature. -
This is a pretty salad, very colorful. I too, subbed cilantro for the parsley as I prefer the flavor. This is easy to put together. I plan to take this to my next potluck. Thanks dicooks for sharing your recipe! -
A very good recipe! I did do a few little things differently. I blended the vinaigrette in our mini countertop blender instead of whisking it. The result was a very frothy, almost creamy vinaigrette. I also added a shallot to the vinaigrette. I too used fresh cilantro in place of parsley. Finally, I also omitted the carrot and just used more bell peppers and red onion. Really very tasty and we're looking forward to enjoying it for our 4th of July picnic. Thanks for sharing.
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
<p>My rating system: (I don't like giving bad reviews, so if I don't like it, I'll just not review it.) <br /><br />5 Stars OMG, this is one of the most amazing things I've ever eaten! I can't stop eating it, and I've eaten myself into a food coma. <br /><br />4 Stars The recipe is wonderful as is. I can't think of a single improvement and I will most likely make it again. <br /><br />3 Stars This needed a little *something*something*. I might make it again, but will add my own improvements if I do. <br /><br />I love to eat! And I love to cook. I tend to take over the kitchen when I get in there. Even the dog knows the command get outta my kitchen! LOL. Cooking for other people and trying new recipes or foods is FUN! I have a small (but growing quickly!!) cookbook collection and one of my favorite things to do is to read recipes and plan meals. Rachael Ray, Horn of the Moon and Moosewood are favorites of mine. <br /><br />We spend a lot of time outdoors camping, hiking and backpacking. Yup. I cook in the woods too! I've made deals with my hiking buddies... If they carry in my food, I'll cook for them. I recently published a backpacking cookbook. Check out the website: http://www.onepanwonders.com <br /><br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/projects/200_PACpic.jpg border=0 alt=Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket /> <img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/projects/pacbanner.jpg border=0 alt=Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket /> <br /><br /><br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/untitled.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting /> <img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/200_artistrichardneuman-art-prints_.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting /> <br /><br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/beartag_1_1.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting /> <img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/adopted_1_1.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting /> <br /><img src=http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/World%20Tour/AnimatedPRD.gif alt= /> <img src=http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/World%20Tour/ZWT2.gif alt= /></p>
