I love bringing this salad to the cottage. This Orzo Salad is tossed with a lemon basil dressing, with fresh cucumbers, tomatoes and arugula. A healthy, vegan, pasta salad that can be made ahead for midweek lunches or potlucks. Keep it vegan or add feta!

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup dry orzo pasta (uncooked) or gluten free pasta
  • 2 English cucumbers, sliced (about 2 cups)
  •  cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • handful of baby arugula (optional or sub baby spinach)

Lemon Basil Dressing

  • 1 cup basil (packed down tight, about 2 ounces)
  • 2 fat garlic cloves
  • zest from one medium lemon
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon cracked pepper

Spring Orzo SaladOptional additions: cheese (goat, feta, shaved pecorino or parmesan), seeds, nuts, avocado, microgreens, or chickpeas

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Cook orzo in generously salted water. Drain and rinse with cold water until cooled.
  2. Place basil, garlic, and lemon zest in a food processor. Pulse repeatedly until uniformly chopped. Add lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper. Pulse a couple more times until combined, but not smooth.
  3. Place cooled orzo into a bowl and toss with the flavorful basil lemon sauce. Add any additions like; cherry tomatoes, cucumber, chickpeas, snap peas, goat cheese, avocado, nuts, seeds, arugula, etc.
  4. Orzo will soak up much of the salt after it sits, so make sure to taste for salt right before serving. I’ll usually add another ¼ teaspoon. Adjust the lemon adding more to taste.

Enjoy!

NOTES

If you plan to add a lot of veggies or beans to the orzo (like, more than a cup or two) double or 1 ½ times the lemon basil dressing so your final dish still has plenty of flavour and vibrant colour.

Orzo Salad will keep 4 days in the fridge