It all started with a quick trip to Baltimore’s Italian market for work. We had a wedding for 80+ people and needed give-or-take six pounds of specialty pasta. Of course there’s no way I can be in that market and JUST get the small things that I need. Like every shopping trip, I ended up splurging. This time I had not only my six bags of pasta, but some pastries, sauces, and whatever else I could fit in my hands on the way to check out. I emptied everything on the check out table thinking to myself thank god I brought my card. After the man piled all of my yums in the box, he told me I owed him a whopping $8. After giving him the “get out…are you sure?….EIGHT DOLLARS?” look, he told me a pound of pasta is a dollar and go have some fun.
Instead of holding up the line, I grabbed a few bags of whatever was in arm’s reach regardless of what the label read. There I was back at work going through my goods when I realized the bags in arm’s reach was orzo pasta. I love orzo pasta. With Baltimore’s heat, there’s nothing better than a summery pasta salad made with refreshing light orzo. If you’ve never cooked with orzo, it’s the closest thing to rice you can get. It looks like long grain rice, but it has the heaviness of a pasta. You can do whatever you want with it really, like turn it into a casserole, risotto ORZOTTO, use it in a soup, or use in part of a salad.
Because I do live in Maryland and in the summer Maryland thinks it’s a desert, I wanted nothing to do with a casserole or soup. My mom makes this incredible Greek orzo pasta with feta cheese, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, and more. My boss was telling me about an orzo pasta that has feta and watermelon and arugula in it. Then I realized, why not just share a standard orzo pasta and give a bunch of fun alternatives for it? I’ll share with you my version of orzo, but I’ll let you get creative considering there are so many fun things you can do with this.
One thing I do recommend is flavoring the pasta. I cooked it, drained it, then let it sit in a Dijon lemon vinaigrette for an entire day. I used olive oil, lemon juice, shallot, whole grain Dijon, and a little bit of honey. It was sweet from the honey, tangy from the lemon, and it had a kick from the mustard. I made it in the morning before work that way by dinner it developed a nice flavor. I added loose leaf parsley and goat cheese and two bowls later I swore I would never touch orzo pasta again.
My suggestion is to make the vinaigrette, taste and tweek to your desire, then add it with the pasta. Give that a taste and dress it up any way you’d like. I love the idea of a caprese pasta salad with cherry tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella balls. Cookout season is in full gear, so get a feel for your guests and make them a custom orzo pasta salad!
- 1 lb. orzo pasta
- 1 lemon
- 1 T. shallot - minced
- 3/4 c. olive oil
- 1 T. whole grain Dijon mustard
- 2 t. honey
- salt and pepper
- parsley
- goat cheese
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook al dente (about 6-7 minutes).
- Drain and since with water to rinse out any starch.
- In a small bowl, add the minced shallot and juice of lemon.
- Add the mustard and honey.
- Slowly add the olive oil while mixing with a whisk.
- Once all the oil is added, taste for salt and pepper. Adjust ingredients as needed.
- Toss in a bowl with the orzo and sit in fridge for a minimum of 3 hours.
- Dress with whatever herbs and toppings you'd like!
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