Summer is the time for BBQ and salads. When the sun is shining outside and the temperatures are not dropping below 30°C, a light salad is pretty much the only option. Salad is perfect on a hot day. This delicious Mediterranean Orzo Pasta Salad may not be the »lightest« candidate in the world of salads, but we haven’t reached 30°C in our apartment under the roof yet… we can still manage a few carbs I guess ;P
Admittedly, pasta salads are not the best choice if you want to eat a super light, low-carb meal. But they’re still delicious! Super tasty, to be honest. My grandma’s pasta salad is part of every BBQ here at home – whether it’s raining, snowing, or when there are temperatures that can melt your face ;P Compared to my grandma’s pasta salad, this one here is light, healthy, and absolutely suitable for summer ;P
The name gives it already away – this salad here is a »Mediterranean« version of a pasta salad. In addition to the pasta, it also contains a good amount of fresh veggies… and other, more or less, healthy ingredients. Unlike grandma’s pasta salad. Good oil, olives, feta – everything you know from Mediterranean cuisine ;)
Anyway. The salad is the perfect salad for a BQQ, for lunch in the office, or for having a good time in the park with a picnic. Once you prepare the salad, it will be good to eat for quite a while. To be honest, the salad tastes even better when all the ingredients had some time to get to know each other. That’s usually the case with pasta salads – they only taste really good after a few hours of resting (or even the next day). You have to be a bit careful with spinach though – that might not look quite as fresh the next day ;)
Orzo, also known as Kritharaki or Risoni is a type of pasta that looks like grains of rice. You can recognize that immediately from the pictures, I suppose ;P I like to use this type of pasta in many of my recipes – not just for salads. No matter where you add those small noodles, they will soak up every sauce or dressing wonderfully. In addition to salads, the rice-grain-sized noodles are great for casseroles and other one-pot dishes. Stuff like Creamy Risoni with Mushrooms – a dish that is very similar to risotto, but made with pasta instead of rice ;)
If you want to use the salad for meal prep, you can prepare the salad as described (see note with the spinach). If the salad is going to be eaten the next day – all good. If you want the salad to stay fresh a bit longer, I recommend adding the dressing later, shortly before serving the salad. Even though tomatoes and cucumbers can handle vinegar and oil well for some time – they should not »marinate« in the dressing for an unnecessarily long time ;P
As already mentioned, I really like to use Orzo, Kritharaki, and Risoni for my recipes. Maybe you also want to try one of these here: my delicious Orzo Chickpea Summer Salad or my Creamy One-Pot Orzo with Leftover Chicken. Both dishes are really delish(ious)! ;)
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(4-5 servings)
For the salad:
7 oz. (200g) orzo pasta* (uncooked)
7 oz. (200g) pinto beans (or white beans), cooked
5.3 oz. (150g) cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cucumber, diced
5-6 sun-dried tomatoes (in oil), chopped
10-12 Kalamata olives, pitted & sliced
2.8 oz. (80g) baby spinach leaves, chopped
some feta cheese, crumbled
some pickled peppers* (mild)
For the dressing:
1/4 cup (60ml) white balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp. olive oil (extra vergine)
2 tsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
salt, pepper
(4-5 Portionen)
Für den Salat:
200g Orzo Pasta* (ungekocht)
200g Pinto Bohnen (oder weiße Bohnen), abgetropft
150g Kirschtomaten, halbiert
1/2 Salatgurke, gewürfelt
5-6 getrocknete Tomaten (in Öl), grob gehackt
10-12 Kalamata Oliven, in Scheiben
80g Baby Spinat, grob gehackt
etwas Feta, zerbröckelt
einige eingelegte Pfefferonen* (mild)
Für das Dressing:
60ml weißer Balsamico Essig
3 EL Olivenöl (Extra Vergine)
2 TL Ahornsirup
1 TL Dijon Senf
1 Knoblauchzehe, sehr fein gehackt
1 TL getrockneter Oregano
Salz, Pfeffer
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Start with the orzo pasta. Cook the orzo as instructed on the package – mine needed to cook for 10 minutes to be »al dente«. Drain and let cool down.
2. Prepare the veggies – drain the beans. Wash the tomatoes, dry them, and cut them in half. Cut the cucumber into (not too small) pieces. Chop the sun-dried tomatoes coarsely. Cut the olives into rings. Wash and dry the baby spinach, then chop very coarsely. Crumble the feta. Add everything (except for the feta) to a large bowl.
3. For the dressing mix the vinegar, olive oil, maple syrup, mustard, minced garlic, and dried oregano in a small bowl. Season well with salt and pepper.
4. When the orzo has cooled down completely, add it to the bowl with the veggies along with the dressing and mix until well combined. Season with more salt and pepper, if needed. Finally, add the crumbled feta and some pickled peppers on top and serve along with some bread.
Tip: You can prepare the salad some time in advance. If you do so, hold back the spinach and add that right before serving.
1. Als Erstes die Nudeln nach Packungsanleitung zubereiten – meine Orzo Nudeln mussten 10 Minuten gekocht werden, um »al dente« zu sein. Abgießen, abtropfen und abkühlen lassen.
2. Als Nächstes die restlichen Zutaten vorbereiten. Die Bohnen abtropfen lassen. Tomaten waschen, abtrocknen und jeweils halbieren. Die Gurke in nicht zu kleine Stücke schneiden. Die getrockneten Tomaten grob hacken, die Oliven in Ringe schneiden, den Babyspinat waschen, trocknen und dann sehr grob hacken. Den Feta zerkrümeln. Alles (außer dem Feta) in eine große Schüssel geben.
3. Für das Dressing den Essig mit Olivenöl, Ahornsirup, Senf, Knoblauch und Oregano in einer kleinen Schüssel vermischen, mit Salz und Pfeffer würzen.
4. Sobald die Nudeln vollständig abgekühlt sind, zusammen mit dem Dressing in die Schüssel mit dem Gemüse geben und alles gut vermengen. Bei Bedarf mit mehr Salz und Pfeffer abschmecken. Vor dem Servieren den Feta und einige eingelegte Paprikaschoten auf dem Salat verteilen und dann zusammen mit etwas Brot servieren.
Tipp: Man kann den Salat einige Zeit im Voraus zubereiten. In diesem Fall sollte man den Spinat allerdings erst kurz vor dem Servieren dazugeben.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Mediterranean Orzo Pasta Salad
- Prep Time: 00:15
- Cook Time: 00:10
- Total Time: 00:35
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Simple, easy, and delicious – this Mediterranean Orzo Pasta Salad is the perfect summer salad. Lunch, dinner, or as a side for your next BBQ.
Ingredients
For the salad:
7 oz. (200g) orzo pasta* (uncooked)
7 oz. (200g) pinto beans (or white beans), cooked
5.3 oz. (150g) cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cucumber, diced
5–6 sun-dried tomatoes (in oil), chopped
10–12 Kalamata olives, pitted & sliced
2.8 oz. (80g) baby spinach leaves, chopped
some feta cheese, crumbled
some pickled peppers* (mild)
For the dressing:
1/4 cup (60ml) white balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp. olive oil (extra vergine)
2 tsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
salt, pepper
Instructions
1. Start with the orzo pasta. Cook the orzo as instructed on the package – mine needed to cook for 10 minutes to be »al dente«. Drain and let cool down.
2. Prepare the veggies – drain the beans. Wash the tomatoes, dry them, and cut them in half. Cut the cucumber into (not too small) pieces. Chop the sun-dried tomatoes coarsely. Cut the olives into rings. Wash and dry the baby spinach, then chop very coarsely. Crumble the feta. Add everything (except for the feta) to a large bowl.
3. For the dressing mix the vinegar, olive oil, maple syrup, mustard, minced garlic, and dried oregano in a small bowl. Season well with salt and pepper.
4. When the orzo has cooled down completely, add it to the bowl with the veggies along with the dressing and mix until well combined. Season with more salt and pepper, if needed. Finally, add the crumbled feta and some pickled peppers on top and serve along with some bread.
Notes
You can prepare the salad some time in advance. If you do so, hold back the spinach and add that right before serving.
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I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
