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Greek Orzo Salad with feta cheese

Greek Orzo Salad (Orzo feta salad)

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  • Author: Eli K. Giannopoulos
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes (plus 1 hour chilling time)
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 as a main, 8 as a side 1x
  • Category: Salad
  • Method: Boiled
  • Cuisine: Greek
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Description

Greek Orzo Salad with feta cheese is one of those super simple dishes that take just so little effort to prepare! Short cooking time, little preparation and you will have a delicious light meal or side dish in 30′!


Ingredients

Scale

For Greek orzo salad

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • a kettle of boiling water
  • 300g orzo (1 3/4 cups)
  • 400g cherry tomatoes (14 oz)
  • 1 small red onion
  • 1 English cucumber
  • 2 handfuls Kalamata olives
  • 30g fresh basil leaves (1 oz)
  • 15g fresh dill (1/2 oz)

For the orzo salad dressing

  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 tsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • zest of 1 lemon

To season and decorate

  • salt to taste
  • black pepper to taste
  • 180g cubed feta (6 oz)


Instructions

  1. To prepare this delicious Greek orzo salad recipe, start with cooking the orzo pasta. Boil the water in the kettle. At the same time heat the olive oil over a medium high heat in a large saucepan. Once the oil is shimmering, add the orzo and cook, stirring often until the orzo starts to color. Fill the pan with boiling water, stir in a of teaspoon of salt and cook the orzo for 10-12 minutes, until just tender and al-dente.
  2. Drain the orzo and rinse under a cold tap until the water running out the pasta runs clear. Set aside to drain away any excess water, stirring occasionally to prevent the pasta sticking to each other.
  3. Meanwhile, quarter the cherry tomatoes, peel and finely chop the onion and the cucumber, and quarter the olives.
  4. Transfer the cooked orzo to a large bowl and stir in the salad vegetables. Roughly chop the fresh herbs and add those too.
  5. To make the dressing, in a small bowl combine the extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, lemon zest, and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Stir this into the orzo mixture.
  6. Add the cubed feta and stir carefully, making sure the cheese pieces don’t break up too much. Season to taste with more salt and pepper, if needed, and leave to stand in the fridge for roughly an hour before serving to allow the orzo to soak up the dressing. Enjoy!