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Herb Vegetable Orzo Salad

Welcome to Farmer's Market Week!  I'm so fortunate to live within 20 minutes of several farms and orchards, and I try to get to one at least weekly.  Nothing beats produce that has just been harvested that day!


All year long I collect recipes on my Pinterest board, patiently waiting for the item's season to come around.  I found this Herb Vegetable Orzo Salad from Taste of Home, and I loved how easy it is to prepare, and that it's perfect as a side dish or you can make it into a full meal by adding some grilled chicken.

I did make two changes.  First, I omitted the olives.  I'm pretty sure that's illegal to not like olives if you're Italian, but I've tried, I just don't.   Second, the recipe calls for frozen corn.  I bought a bag, but then I saw on Facebook that local stuff was ready, so I ran and grabbed some.


I also did not add the dressing until after I'd taken the pictures. Balsamic is many things, very delicious, but it is not photogenic.  You can go the white balsamic route if you like, but I used what I had on hand.  It's so cliche, but this dish really is summer on a plate. It's so fresh and colorful, filling but not heavy.  The Taste of Home Test Kitchen really knocked it out of the park with this one. 


Herb Vegetable Orzo Salad

Herb Vegetable Orzo Salad
Yield: 8
Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal

Ingredients

  • 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
  • 2 cups frozen corn, thawed
  • 1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper
  • 1/2 cup grape or cherry tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup chopped sweet onion
  • 1/4 cup minced fresh basil or 4 teaspoons dried basil
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

  1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water. Place in a large serving bowl; add the corn, red pepper, tomatoes, onion, basil and parsley.
  2. In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper; shake well. Pour over salad and toss to coat.
Orzo, vegetables, make ahead
side dishes, main dishes, vegetables, pasta
American
 


Monday’s Farmer’s Market Week Recipes



Comments

  1. Thank you for reminding me that I have orzo in my pantry! With all the veggies we have around lately, I've just got to make this!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I always seem to have a box tucked away too.. or the little shells, which would be great also!

      Delete

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