Refreshing Summer Orzo Salad

Yummy! Didn’t have pine nuts, used almonds and diced them up. Definitely a recipe I will be using often this summer!

This was really good! I left out the capers because I don’t like them, but I made everything else according to the recipe. I actually halved the ingredients because 8 servings seemed like a lot, and I’m glad I did because it filled a 3-1/2 qt. casserole dish! I recommend that if you half the recipe like I did, to half everything except the garlic, thyme, basil, and crushed pepper; those you should you use the full amounts listed. I also added a little extra lemon juice to make up for omitting the capers. Overall it was very good, and can easily be tweaked to fit your tastes.

This was really good! I left out the capers because I don’t like them, but I made everything else according to the recipe. I actually halved the ingredients because 8 servings seemed like a lot, and I’m glad I did because it filled a 3-1/2 qt. casserole dish! I recommend that if you half the recipe like I did, to half everything except the garlic, thyme, basil, and crushed pepper; those you should you use the full amounts listed. I also added a little extra lemon juice to make up for omitting the capers. Overall it was very good, and can easily be tweaked to fit your tastes.

Instead of using butter to keep the orzo from sticking I used about 1 cup of premade pesto. That also added a really nice light green color to the salad. I would only use a 1/8 cup of olive oil to sauté the garlic basil thyme and red pepper flakes.Try sautéing these herbs on medium low as medium was a bit too high and browned the seasonings more than I like. Also, I doubled all of those seasonings since I like more spices in my dishes. I think it’s salty enough so I’m glad I didn’t add the juice from the capers. To add more color, I added one cup of quartered grape tomatoes. The taste of this salad is amazing! Serving it cold at a baby shower tomorrow, can’t wait to see what everybody thinks!

My mom makes this several times over the summer. My father and son love it. My Mom is asked to make it for potlucks. She puts in diced tomatoes(1 contioner of grape tomatoes), and goat cheese instead of feta cheese.

We loved this recipe! Luckily we had everything but the feta on hand. I left out the olives and used vegetable broth in place of chicken broth. This turned out excellent! I'm not sure if I like it warm or cold, it is delicious both ways.