Monday, June 14, 2010

It's all Greek to me...

I made a big batch of this yummy pasta salad yesterday. I brought half to a friend's birthday barbeque (Happy birthday Josh!) and served the other half with dinner at home. It's delicious with grilled meats and fish or just on its own. Great for those summer get-togethers! This recipe makes enough for a small group so cut it in half if you are serving just a few people.

Greek Orzo Salad

  • 1/3 cup fresh dill (leaves only), roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp  of extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
  • 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
  • 1 lb orzo
  • 2 stalks of green onion, sliced thin
  • 1 large English (hothouse) cucumber, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 1 lb grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
  • 4 oz of crumbled feta cheese
  • 1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts

Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain and set aside in a large bowl to cool.
Put the dill, olive oil, vinegar, Dijon, salt and pepper into a food processor or mini chopper and blend until dill is chopped fine and dressing has thickened. About ten seconds.

Pour half the dressing onto the orzo and mix well with a large spoon. Add the green onion, cucumbers, tomatoes, feta (or leave the feta on the side if you have kids that may not like it), pine nuts and the remainder of the dressing. Fold everything gently together to combine. Season with more salt and pepper to taste only if necessary.

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