Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Greek Orzo Salad


This pasta salad is the side dish for the amazing Greek entree that I created last week: Chicken Souvlaki w/ Tzatziki sauce. I actually was just going to post the chicken and save the orzo salad for the cookbook (it's actually a round two recipe for my Stuffed Peppers! Good stuff will be in that book!). However, I ventured onto twitter today and saw that Barilla Pasta is requesting that folks share their pasta salad recipes. Since I'd just finished this one, I thought I'd go ahead and post it because I think this pasta salad should definitely be featured. 

Whether you're serving this with other Greek Food or not, this is a winning salad! It's summertime fresh with the veggies and dill and all of the colors will really brighten up your table. Enjoy this one and look out for the other recipes shortly!

Greek Orzo Salad

Ingredients: (makes 4-5 side servings)

1 Cup Barilla Orzo
3 tbsp evoo
1tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt & pepper to taste
Garlic powder to taste
8-10 grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 English cucumber, diced (medium sized)
1/4 cup red onion, minced
2-3 tbsp fresh dill, roughly chopped
2/3 cup feta cheese, cubed

Directions:

Fill a medium sized pot 2/3 of the way full with water, place over high heat and bring water to a boil. Add a generous pinch of salt, then the pasta and cook according to package directions. When pasta is al dente, drain and add to a medium sized bowl. 

While pasta is cooking, whisk together oil, vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a small bowl. Pour over warm pasta, then add tomatoes, cucumber, onion, dill and stir to combine. Top with feta and enjoy. This is even better when allowed to chill in the fridge.