A summer orzo salad that can be served as a side or a light lunch.
Prevent your screen from going dark
Ingredients
1 ½cupsdry orzo pasta
3tablespoonsextra-virgin olive oil
2tablespoonssherry Vinegar
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
4cupscubed watermelon
3cupscubed tomatoes(about 4 large tomatoes)
16largebasil leaves,torn
¾cupshaved Pecorino cheese
Instructions
Add orzo to a medium saucepan. Place saucepan over medium heat and toast orzo, tossing pan occasionally, until orzo is light golden brown and fragrant, 4–5 minutes.
Carefully add water to saucepan to cover orzo by an inch or so. Bring to a boil, then season heavily with salt.
Cook orzo until al dente according to package directions. Drain pasta then return to saucepan and toss with a glug of olive oil to keep pasta from sticking; set aside to cool.
In a large bowl whisk together 3 tablespoons oil, 2 tablespoons vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
Add cooked and cooled orzo, watermelon and tomatoes and toss to combine.
Stir in basil and pecorino. Season with additional vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.
Serve immediately.
Notes
Use a vegetable peeler to get large flat shaves of Pecorino.Feel free to play around with the fresh herbs you add. Fresh parsley, mint or even oregano would be delicious.To make this gluten-free: use gluten-free orzo (or any small shape of gluten-free pasta) or skip the pasta altogether.1½ cups dry orzo = 3½ cups cooked orzo pasta.
Like this? Leave a comment below!I love hearing from you and I want to hear how it went with this recipe! Leave a comment and rating below, then share on social media @zestfulkitchen and #zestfulkitchen!