Orzo Salad

Sticking with summertime meals and the BBQ theme of last week, this is a great BBQ accompaniment to Yes, it has a lot of ingredients, but they blend so well and make this salad very hardy. And the green onions and red and yellow peppers make this salad very colorful and pretty. Orzo is a nice alterative to your regular BBQ pasta salad and no more work. If you throw in some grilled chicken, you have a meal for your family and a meal that can sit in the refrigerator until they are ready to eat and they can serve to themselves when they are ready; great for a busy summer.

 ORZO SALAD

Ingredients

16 ounces orzo pasta

2 tbsp plus 1/2 cup olive oil

1 1/2 cups seasoned (such as basil and tomato) feta cheese  - crumbled

1 cup red bell pepper - chopped

1 cup yellow bell pepper - chopped

3/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives – cut in half or put in whole

1 bunch of green onions - chopped

1  3.5oz jar of capers - drained

Dressing Ingredients:

3 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

4 cloves of garlic - minced

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp ground cumin

Optional - 3 tablespoons pine nuts,toasted.  I put mine in the toaster oven for a few minutes. Pine nuts toast fast so don’t walk away.  Or you can use pine nuts untoasted.

Cook orzo in large pot of boiling water with about 1 tsp of salt added. Cook for the least amount of recommended cooking time. Drain. Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process; drain well. Transfer to large bowl. Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add crumbled feta cheese, chopped bell peppers, Kalamata olives, green onions and capers.

Combine lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, oregano, mustard and cumin in small bowl. Gradually whisk in remaining 1/2 cup olive oil. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

Add dressing to orzo mixture and toss to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper. This salad can be prepared ahead. The pasta and vegetables will absorb the dressing flavors and be delicious. Cover and refrigerate.

Optional - Garnish salad with pine nuts before serving but know your guests. Many people are allergic to pine nuts.