A Summery Orzo Salad

Summer has arrived! This is beyond a doubt my most favorite time of year… Seriously, what’s not to love? The mangoes, the ice cream, the long flowy dresses, the beach… and speaking of beach, I just thought I’d share a picture of one of Egypt’s finest… And seriously, this picture does not do our shores justice…

Now I’m sure all of us would rather spend more time at the beach and other equally fabulous summer destinations than in a hot kitchen (and let me tell you it gets really hot here in the summer). So, without any further ado let me get to this recipe which is quick and easy so that it saves you time for other fun summer activities (but it still tastes perfect and light).

I call this a recipe but I wont specify exactly how much of each ingredient you should use because it is really all up to you – feel free to play around with the ingredients and add more or less of anything that you like.

Ingredients:
About 1 cup orzo
About ¼ cup chopped yellow peppers
About ¼ cup finely chopped white onion
Black olives, pitted
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
A handful or two of parsley, chopped

For the vinaigrette (see note on vinaigrette below):
Olive oil
Fresh Lemon Juice
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
About 1 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
A pinch or two of sugar

Note on the vinaigrette: I didn’t specify the quantity of olive oil and lemon juice because it depends on how much salad you are making (you should be a judge based on the quantities of vegetables you add into the salad)– generally speaking, the vinaigrette proportions should be 2/3 olive oil and 1/3 lemon juice.

So, to make this salad, cook the orzo in salted and oiled water according to the package’s instructions. Once the orzo is cooked through strain to get rid of the water and place the strainer filled with orzo under a tap of cold water to stop the cooking. Get rid of any excess water and put in a bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and make the vinaigrette by combining all the vinaigrette’s ingredients together and mixing well. Add the vinaigrette to the salad. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Refrigerate and serve cold.

Delicious isn’t it? Happy Summer!

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