Greek Orzo Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette

We planted our garden several weeks ago, and this year we made an effort to include lots of herbs to use in our cooking.  When I was watering the garden yesterday, I noticed how amazing the purple basil and mint looked and tried to think up a way to use them in our dinner.  Fast forward a few minutes and, I had retrieved mint, purple basil, italian basil, swiss chard, and chives from our garden and was searching through the pantry and fridge to figure out what to do with them!   Once I found some orzo, it was a match made in tastebud heaven.

We served the orzo salad with grilled chicken tenders on top to add some protein and cut down on the amount of pasta we were eating.  Adding garbanzo beans to the salad is a vegetarian option for adding protein.
 

 Orzo Salad

• 1 cup orzo pasta (about 1/2 a box)
• 1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 cup chopped spinach (we used swiss chard)
• 1 Tbsp capers 
• 1 Tbsp of finely chopped chives
• 3 Tbsp crumbled feta cheese (optional)
• 3-4 Tbsp red wine vinaigrette (adjust the quantity to your taste; we used the recipe below)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

Red Wine Vinaigrette:
(makes about 1 cup)

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbs honey
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
 

 

Cook 1 cup orzo as directed on package (add orzo to 3qts water and 2 tsp salt; boil for 10 minutes). While orzo is cooking, chop tomatoes, spinach, and herbs, and place them in a bowl.   Make vinaigrette as directed (recipe above makes WAY more than you need for this salad).

Once orzo is done, drain and allow to cool to room temperature, toss in bowl with tomatoes, spinach, and herbs. Add dressing and toss until coated.

We served it with grilled lemon garlic chicken tenders with a little feta on top.   It's a perfect side dish for a BBQ....or even as a meal.

Recipe based on:  Giada De Laurentis' Orzo Salad recipe