Caprese Orzo Salad

If you want to know one thing about me...I LOVE pasta! I could probably eat pasta for every single meal. Especially if we're talking pasta salad.

I must admit, when I was younger I used to boil noodles, throw in some leftover vegetables and other random things from our freezer and voilà, pasta salad. Thankfully as I've grown up I've realized that there are more options than frozen corn, peas, and noodles, drenched in italian dressing (yeah, I know...gross, right?)

And this is one of those recipes. When I came across this I couldn't help but have one of those "why didn't I think of that?!" moments, but I'm not going to complain because this recipe is awesome...and refreshing I might add.

Now if you've never tried orzo, I really encourage you to. It looks like rice, but it's actually a pasta. It's perfect for pasta salad if you want to change it up a little bit, and I think it looks nice too.

So here it is. A light and delicious pasta salad.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 cup olive oil
1 pound orzo
1 pint small cherry tomatoes (halved)
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 cup chopped fresh basil
1 7-ounce container feta cheese, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
salt & pepper to taste

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together vinegar and honey. Slowly add olive oil while whisking vigorously. Set aside. (I added a little bit of balsamic vinegar to my dressing because I thought it needed a little something extra).

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (tip: add olive oil to the boiling water to prevent the noodles from sticking). Follow cooking instructions on the package.

Pour pasta into a strainer and run cold water on it to prevent further cooking. Let strain until all the water has been removed, tossing frequently to prevent sticking.

In a large bowl, combine orzo, tomatoes, green onions, basil and feta cheese. Toss to combine. Add red wine vinegar mixture, toss to coat completely. (You may want to save some of the dressing or make extra to add to the pasta throughout the week as it may dry out a little bit)

Cool in refrigerator for at least one hour to let flavors intermingle. Leftovers can be stored under plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Enjoy!




Inspired by The Baked Life.