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Thursday, November 19, 2009

Orzo Salad



Orzo pasta looks like long grain rice. I actually thought it was rice at first. After several days of heavy eating. I wanted to relatively have something filling and light at the same time. I had a tomato, persian cucumber, baby bok choy. I roasted the bok choy and left the others fresh. The thing that made this stand out was when I added some sweet pickled relish. Then to give it an Asian flair, gave it a splash some rice wine vinegar.

I had this with a couple left over avocado rolls.  It was deliciously good. I still have tons of orzo left, so now I need to figure out what else I can make this with.

Serves 3




Orzo Salad

1 c uncooked orzo pasta
1 persian cucumber or 1 small regular cucumber - sliced into  half moons.
1 ripe medium tomato - deseeded and chopped
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (plus extra)
2 Tbsp sweet pickle relish
3-4 baby bok choy
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

Preheat your oven to 375˚F

Separated the bok choy leaves leave the inner bulb in tact. For larger leaves you may cut them in half. Lightly coat them in some olive oil and season with some salt. Place on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

In a large bowl combine the diced tomatoes, cucumber and sweet pickled relish. Set aside

In a pot bring of water to a boil. Season with some salt and a tiny drizzle of olive oil. When the water is bubbling add the orzo. Stir a couple times to avoid the pasta from clumping together. Cook until al dente roughly 8 minutes. Then strain. Add 1/8 c olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking.

Add the orzo with the tomatoes and cucumbers. Add the relish and rice wince vinegar. Toss together to combine. Finally add the baby bok choy. Toss once more.

Serve cooled.


26 comments:

Donna-FFW said...

Another great use for orzo. I love that u used relish and rice wine vinegar in this, it must have such a nice tangy flavor!!

Bob said...

Love it! Orzo is the bomb, once I've moved I'm going to see if I can find it near my new place. Can you believe my local store here doesn't carry it?

Debbie said...

Love orzo. My grandmother always used orzo in chicken soup!

Nutmeg Nanny said...

This looks great! It reminds me of a salad I once tried from one of Ina's cookbooks, but she included roasted shrimp in hers. Now I need to get my hands on some more orzo....

Unknown said...

I've never actually tried orzo. This salad looks really nice and fresh tasting.

Sippity Sup said...

This is a fresh and fabulous take on Orzo. GREG

teresa said...

mmmmm, delicious!!

Esi said...

I love orzo! I really think I could eat it all day long. This sounds so fresh.

Unknown said...

This looks great - so fresh!

Diana said...

I love orzo! I bet the pickle relish is amazing in it -- you are so clever! Where do you come up with this stuff?

Anonymous said...

Your orzo salad sounds excellent, I love the addition of bok choy! I'm planning to make an orzo salad for Thanksgiving actually with cranberries & pecans :)

Jenn said...

Donna: It does.

Bob: That's weird. you'd think they'd have something in stock.

Debbie: I haven't used it in soup yet. Maybe that's the next thing I put it in.

Nutmeg: Roasted shrimp, eh? I have to check out Ina's recipe.

HH: It's very much like pasta and it's really good.

Greg, Teresa, Valley, Sophie: Thanks.

Esi: Me, too.

Diana: It's really just a mix and match of things i have in the pantry. ;-D

5 Star: Ooo...cranberries and pecans. That's does sound good.

Catherine said...

I love orzo, and your recipes sounds so good! I will definately be trying this one!

Cucinista said...

Orzo is one of my favorite salad pastas. Try it with some zucchini and feta and lemon dressing. mmmm.

Dewi said...

Love orzo, I too, like to make salad out of these tiny pasta.

chow and chatter said...

cool Asian flavored orzo my mum in law thought it was rice when she was here!

Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction said...

Yum... Orzo is one of my faves. This sounds like a tasty salad!

Andrea@WellnessNotes said...

I love orzo. I could eat this every day! :)

Parita said...

Even i would have thought of it has long grain rice :-)
Salad looks colorful and quite fulfilling!

Anonymous said...

Asian style Orzo salad! I love that addition of bok choy...totally random, but delicious!! >.<

Jenn said...

Catherine, Jen: Thanks.

Cucinista: I shall.

Elra: I wonder why I haven't cooked with them before.

CC: My mom did, too. hehe...

Andrea: ;-D

Parita: it is, but in a good way.

Sophia: It replaces the lettuce.

Mary Bergfeld said...

What a wonderful new take on Orzo! Thanks.

theUngourmet said...

What a great combination of flavors! You are unstoppable in the kitchen! :D

Chats the Comfy Cook said...

Love the salad.

Orzo with butter and onions and mushrooms are good.

Jenn said...

Mary, Sweet: Thanks.

Ungourmet: ;-D

www.encontactos.com said...

Very worthwhile piece of writing, thank you for the post.

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