Orzo Pasta Salad with Sundried Tomato
This Mediterranean-style toasted Orzo Pasta recipe with artichokes, peppers, parmesan and tomato pesto dressing can be prepared in few minutes! Quick and easy vegetarian meal for gatherings.
It doesn’t get fresher and faster than making this delicious orzo pasta salad. This vegetarian side dish celebrates the use of fresh and flavorful ingredients with each bite delivering a burst of flavor.
What is Orzo, how to cook it and other ingredients in this recipe?
Orzo is a tiny pasta that resembles rice. It cooks up super quickly in similar ways pasta is cooked. It cooks up in just about 7 to 8 minutes, which makes it perfect side dish or light lunch option. I think it can be also a good dinner option.
It is not loved as much as other types of pastas. I love using orzo to make soups, salads or this creamy Orzotto situation. I have also seen some families serve orzo plain just as we serve rice. I love making pasta/grain salads using quinoa, couscous, orzo etc.
There are lot of varieties of pasta and Orzo is a pasta and is cooked same way as other pastas. It takes 7-8 minutes and should be cooked al dente. For best flavor and if you have extra time on hand, toast your orzo in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil before you cook it in boiling water! This one extra short step enhances the flavor and gives the orzo a subtly nutty flavor. Once toasted, boil orzo just like any other pasta.
Apparently, it cooks the same way as pasta and has very similar texture too. It can be used to make pasta dishes, salads and soups. I like to toss the pesto while the orzo is still slightly warm so that it absorbs all the flavors.
I kept the other ingredients very simple, most of them store-bought like marinated artichokes, olives etc. If you can’t find marinated artichokes, you can buy those jarred ones, squeeze out the liquid and then toast it in warm olive oil with Italian herbs. It’s an extra step but whatever works.
I have used only parmesan cheese and mozzarella balls.
You can totally use any other cheese of your choice like ricotta salata, pecorino, Manchego, feta, halloumi, goat cheese etc. You can easily swap the choice of cheese. If you want to completely leave it cheese, then feel free to do so.
You can use store-bought pesto or check out this recipe for my sun-dried tomato pesto!
For nuts, I have used pistachios, but any nuts would work well in this recipe. I am thinking of pine nuts, marcona almonds, pecans etc would taste so good. They add great texture and crunch.
Herbs like Italian seasoning, oregano, salt, black pepper, red chili flakes, etc
The dressing has sun-dried pesto along with balsamic and olive oil.
You can serve the salad straight away, but it can be prepared in advance as it stores very well covered in an airtight container for few days. It gives flavors time to mingle and makes it more flavorful.
Tips or Suggestions
- If this is your first-time cooking orzo, here are a few things to keep in mind.
- Toast until the pasta is just golden brown. When toasting the orzo, be sure to keep stirring it to avoid burning the pasta.
- Salt the water. When it’s time to boil the pasta, make sure to add salt to the water.
- Don’t overcook the pasta. Orzo cooks quickly. No one likes mushy pasta salad.
Orzo Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Pasta and Veggies
- 1 Cup Orzo toasted and boiled
- 1 red pepper/yellow pepper chopped and roasted
- 1/2 cup onions chopped and roasted
- 1/2 cup marinated roasted artichokes
- 1/4 cup marinated olives
- 2 tbsp capers
- 1/2 cup fresh fennel bulb (white part) chopped and roasted
Dressing
- 2-3 tbsp sundried -tomato pesto
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp honey or agave
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
- Salt to taste
- 1/4 tsp Black pepper
- some parmesan cheese, mozzarella or pecorino, ricotta salata etc.
- 1/4 cup pistachios or any other nuts
- 2 tbsp chopped basil, fennel fronds, parsley etc.
Instructions
Dressing
- Take all the ingredients of dressing and stir it all together until emulsified and mixed well. Leave it aside until read to dress. You can prepare this a day or two in advance and store in the fridge.
Orzo and veggies
- In a pot or pan, heat 1 tbsp oil. Once the oil is warm enough, sauté red bell pepper and onions, fennel quickly keeping the crunchy texture. Just cook them slightly. Remove them.
- In the same pot or pan, add Orzo and toast it for few seconds. Once the Orzo is toasted add about enough water and salt in it and bring it to a boil. Once it comes to full boil, decrease the heat and let it cook preferably covered with a lid until all the water is evaporated, and Orzo is cooked. If you need to add more water, then please do. Once its cooked, drain the Orzo immediately from overcooking. It takes 7-8 minutes approximately to cook Orzo.
- Transfer the Orzo to a mixing bowl and add the roasted veggies, mozzarella balls and toss the pesto dressing and add pistachios.
- Garnish with some chopped herbs of your choice like basil, fennel fronds or pasrsley and dd some grated cheese and add more nuts if you wish.
- Serve it at room temperature.
Notes
- You can cook Orzo and keep it in the fridge in advance. You can also make dressing and keep it in the fridge in advance.
- The leftovers store very well for 2-3 days in an air-tight container.
- Make sure to add less salt, as sun-dried pesto and other ingredients contains salt. Be careful to not make it salty.
- You can use less or more pesto to your liking.