Orzo Salad

Am back. And, its nice to be alive and kicking. First of all, a big Thank You, for each and one of you who were kind enough to visit here and wish me good health. Its nice to hear from you all, my blogging buddies.

After a week, spent indoors, I went to the vegetable market yesterday. The sight of bright, fresh and colourful vegetables and fruits, stacked neatly, is a feast for both eyes and soul. I came across these beauties and couldn’t resist picking them.

These tomatoes were slightly bigger than a chickpea, but each bite was a sweet, fresh and a juicy burst inside our mouths. For $3.50 a lb, they better be.

Though ideas of using them in a tart or pie showed up in my mind, I decided to use them as is. I was in no mood for a cold salad, therefore put together a warm pasta salad, that can also be served at room temperature. Orzo is a rice shaped pasta that cooks fast and works great in salads and soups.

As I am still under medication, I made a basic, less spicy version of the salad. Also I made one whole pound of pasta and snacked on it as and when I was hungry.

Ingredients

Orzo – 1 lb
Tomatoes – 1 lb
Red onion – 1, medium sized, chopped fine
Mixed herbs (cilantro, basil, mint) – ¼ cup, finely chopped
Salt

Dressing

Red wine vinegar – 1 tbsp
Extra virgin olive oil – 3 tbsp
Zest and juice of a lemon
Red pepper flakes – 1 tsp
Salt
Pepper

Method

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water before draining.

Whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing in a large bowl. Add the cooked warm pasta, onions, tomatoes and the herbs. Mix well and taste for seasoning. If the pasta becomes dry, add some of the reserved pasta water till each grain is separate. You can also add more olive oil.

Some other interesting additions would be

1. Chickpeas – Soaked and cooked.
2. Olives – Not the regular canned or jarred ones, but fresh ones from the olive bar. Their brine is an excellent addition to any salad.
3. Pine nuts – toasted
4. Any left-over vegetables.
   

I tried all of these variations every time I helped myself with the salad.