Orzo Greek Pasta Salad

Submitted by FLYing4Me

"A fresh tasting, light, lemony salad. I often use this as a meatless main dish for dinner! Cook time is chill time."

 

• Ready In: 55mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 6 ounces uncooked orzo pasta
• 3⁄4 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1⁄3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 4 teaspoons honey
• 1 medium cucumber, seeded and chopped (1 1/4 cups)
• 2 Italian plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1⁄2 cup red onion, chopped
• 12 medium pitted ripe olives, halved
• 1⁄4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves (optional)
• 1⁄4 cup crumbled feta cheese

directions

1. Cook orzo according to package directions.Drain and rinse with cold water.
2. In a small bowl, combine lemon zest, lemon juice, oil, mustard and honey.Whisk until well mixed. Set aside.
3. In large bowl, combine cooked orzo and remaining ingredients except feta cheese. Pour dressing over salad;toss gently until well mixed. Sprinkle with feta cheese. Chill.
4. Serve on lettuce lined plate if desired.

Reviews

[Fanged Menace]

I found this to be way too much lemon -- even after I added the remainder of the 1-pound bag of orzo to the salad in an attempt to dilute it -- but my dining companions all went back for seconds, making happy exclamations about freshness and lemonyness. You may wish to start out with a little less zest and juice and add more after tasting the result. I browned the onions in a spritz of olive oil first, fearing that raw red onions would be too much bite. This compacts them, and I think a whole red onion would be delightful if you go with the pre-cooking route.