A bright, fresh orzo salad with cucumber, tomatoes, olives and artichoke hearts tossed in a lemon-Dijon vinaigrette and plenty of fresh herbs. Delicious served slightly warm or chilled.
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| Lemon Orzo Pasta Salad with Cucumbers and Olives |
Servings: About 6
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 6–10 minutes
Chill Time: About 1 hour, optional
Ingredients:
- 1½ cups dried orzo (about 10 ounces)
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 2–4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste
- 1 medium English cucumber, diced
- 1 large tomato, diced, or 8 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup coarsely chopped fresh herbs, using any combination of parsley, cilantro, basil, dill or mint
- ½ cup pitted olives
- 1 cup canned or jarred artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
Instructions:
- Bring a large saucepan of generously salted water to a boil.
- Add the orzo and cook until tender, 6–10 minutes, or according to package directions. Drain well.
- While the orzo cooks, prepare the dressing. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, Dijon mustard, honey, lemon zest, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
- Add the warm, drained orzo directly to the dressing and toss until thoroughly coated.
- Stir in the cucumber, tomatoes, fresh herbs, olives and artichoke hearts.
- Taste and add additional lemon juice, salt and pepper as desired.
- Serve slightly warm, or cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour before serving chilled.
Tip: Adding the warm orzo directly to the vinaigrette allows it to absorb more of the lemon and olive-oil flavor. Start with 2 tablespoons lemon juice, then add more after tasting.
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