Make Ahead

Impress-Your-Mother-In-Law Greek Orzo Salad

Name: Impress-Your-Mother-In-Law Greek Orzo Salad
Yield: Serves 10
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice; 1/2 cup Red wine vinegar (or balsamic or white wine or be creative); 2 teaspoons minced garlic; 1 tablespoon minced onion; 1 teaspoon dijon mustard; 1 tablespoon fresh minced oregano; 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley; 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil; 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper; 1 pound cooked orzo; 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes; 4 tablespoons olive oil; 2 tablespoons roasted garlic; 2 handfuls torn fresh basil; 2 handfuls torn fresh spinach; 1/4 pound pine nuts, toasted; 1/2 pound high quality olives, pitted and chopped (I mix black and green); 1/2 pound feta cheese; 1/2 pound high quality pepperoni or other Italian meat

by: Crematia

June 22, 2011

4 Ratings

Serves 10

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Author Notes

This is my absolute go-to for any potluck event. So fresh, so delightful! It is just as good at room temperature as it is cold and there are so many ways to customize it. I created this for an impromptu barbecue at my office on the 4th of July. The beauty is that every beautiful ingredient really gets a chance to shine! I just recently started making my own feta cheese which is just unbelievable in this dish but store-bought works just fine too. —Crematia

Ingredients

Lemony dressing
¹/₄ cup fresh lemon juice
¹/₂ cup Red wine vinegar (or balsamic or white wine or be creative)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh minced oregano
¹/₄ cup chopped fresh parsley
¹/₂ cup extra virgin olive oil
¹/₄ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Asssemblage
1 pound cooked orzo
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons roasted garlic
2 handfuls torn fresh basil
2 handfuls torn fresh spinach
¹/₄ pound pine nuts, toasted
¹/₂ pound high quality olives, pitted and chopped (I mix black and green)
¹/₂ pound feta cheese
¹/₂ pound high quality pepperoni or other Italian meat

Directions

Lemony dressing
For the dressing, whiz everything but the olive oil in a blender or food processor for a few seconds until the onion and garlic are VERY fine. While the machinery is running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Presto, you’ve got dressing.

Asssemblage
Slice the tomatoes in half and layer them on a cookie sheet (cover it with aluminum foil to make clean-up easier), cut-side up. Drizzle with olive oil (you can use a cheaper olive oil because you will be heating it but feel free to use Extra Virgin if you like) and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast at 300 for about an hour until they are somewhat dry. Cool.
Chuck it all in a big bowl and toss with the dressing. Save some pine nuts or basil flowers for garnishing the top.

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1 Review

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Cook T. June 23, 2011

I make a Greek orzo salad often as well. I've never thought of adding meat to it before though. I'm imagining a dry salami with black peppercorns thought it. Yum!