Make this light and easy spring pasta salad filled with fresh herbs and lemon. Perfect with roast chicken or the first barbeque of the season.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp. salt plus more to taste
- 1 lb. orzo
- About 6 lemons
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup finely chopped mint leaves
- 1/4 cup finely chopped dill leaves
- 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves
- 1/2 cup chopped pistachios
- 1/4 cup pine nut or olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper (optional)
- Crumbled feta cheese (optional)
Preparation:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 Tbsp. salt and orzo. Cook until pasta is tender to the bite. Drain.
- Meanwhile, remove and mince zest from 2 lemons, being careful to avoid any bitter white pith. (Note: a micro-plane zester makes quick work of this task.) Juice zested lemons and enough other lemons to make 1/2 cup juice. Combine zest and juice with garlic in the bottom of a large bowl.
- Add hot, drained orzo and toss to coat thoroughly. Let sit, tossing occasionally, until cool. When ready to serve, taste orzo and add more lemon juice if it doesn’t taste really lemony. Toss in mint, dill, cilantro, and pistachios. Toss to coat with oil. Add pepper to taste, if you like.
- Serve garnished with crumbled feta on top, if you like.
Makes 8 servings Lemon Orzo Salad.
