| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 40 min |
| Active: | 40 min |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 40 min |
| Active: | 40 min |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 pound orzo
- 1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, halved or quartered
- 1 small English cucumber, diced (about 3 cups)
- 1 bunch radishes, sliced (about 1 cup)
- 1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
- 5 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1/2 cup pepitas, toasted (see Cook’s Note)
- 1 shallot, finely minced (about 2 1/2 tablespoons)
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1 to 1 1/2 lemons)
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- For the salad: Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the orzo and cook at a lazy boil until just tender, about 9 minutes. Transfer to a colander and drain well, then transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, olives, cheese, basil, mint and parsley to the orzo.
- For the vinaigrette: Whisk together the shallot, mustard and lemon juice in a small bowl. Add the oil in a steady stream, whisking constantly. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour the vinaigrette over the orzo salad and toss well to distribute the ingredients evenly. Serve warm or at room temperature. Or make ahead and chill. Garnish with the pepitas before serving.
- Cook’s Note: To toast pepitas, lightly coat the seeds with olive oil. Season with kosher salt, then spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast at 400 degrees F, stirring occasionally, until golden and fragrant, 5 to 8 minutes. You’ll know they’re almost done when you hear them start to pop.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 459 |
| Total Fat | 24 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 48 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 3 g |
| Protein | 14 g |
| Cholesterol | 8 mg |
| Sodium | 463 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 459 |
| Total Fat | 24 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 48 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 3 g |
| Protein | 14 g |
| Cholesterol | 8 mg |
| Sodium | 463 mg |
Reviews
LOVE this recipe!
Options I like: Add capers; can use cut up whole rather than cherry tomatoes – or best of all, roast the cherry tomatoes; add garlic chives; and definitely at least double the herbs!
Options I like: Add capers; can use cut up whole rather than cherry tomatoes – or best of all, roast the cherry tomatoes; add garlic chives; and definitely at least double the herbs!
I got a kick out of watching Valerie make this .
I made it and loved it!!
I love Kalamata olives, I left out the radishes due to personal preference. I loved it served warm and I also loved it next day chilled; so this is a pretty awesome dish.
I went a little heavy on either the mustard or the lemon, so I think next time I’m going to try maybe some kind of Greek dressing. If anyone has tried it with a different dressing please post here and tell me how yours turned out.
thin sliced cucumber you ate at restaurant.salad
Made this for a wine tasting picnic. Since I was serving this cold, I waited to add the goat cheese and other ingredients until orzo had cooled. I also added 1/2 the vinaigrette while it was chilling and the other 1/2 right before I served it. Everyone loved it; even the picky eaters. Great the next day too! DELICIOUS !
Delicious! I made half a recipe but made a full recipe of the vinaigrette. I substituted black olives for the Kalamata olives and added peeled, cooked shrimp to make it a main dish. Half a recipe yielded 8 cups of salad. Be sure to prep the ingredients before cooking the orzo as it cooks quickly and you want to add it to the salad while still warm. Will definitely make again.
I made the recipe exactly as written. We ate it warm, as she did on the show, and were not big fans of the flavor/texture of the warm cucumbers and radishes. Then we ate the leftovers chilled the next day and it was fantastic. Next time I’ll toss all ingredients except the cucumbers and radishes with the warm orzo, and then wait to add them until the pasta’s cooled. 5 stars for the salad when chilled.
Saw this on Saturday morning and I couldn’t wait to make it. Took it to a baby shower and got 3 requests for the recipe. It was so good warm and can’t wait to try the leftovers. This is my new go to pasta salad!! Yummy!!
Just saw this Saturday morning so my sister and I made that night. This is sooo delicious and super easy!!! only didn’t have the olives, but I’ve been eating the leftovers for two days, even more yummy!!