A crowd favorite and bursting with Greek flavor, this Herbed Orzo Salad is bursting with fresh dill and mint, feta cheese and tangy lemon.
This post was created in partnership with Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove; All opinions are our own.
“What is the best way to eat healthy and delicious? » While there is no black and white answer to this question, Alex and I are happy to say so. HERBS GROW. Seems a bit awkward, doesn’t it? Why should you eat healthier by growing herbs?
We think: caring for herbs requires slowing down. You will surely enjoy the season and get your hands dirty, which is easily avoided by glowing a smartphone screen. And when you add herbs to your cooking, they turn a dish from ordinary into amazing without adding calories. Say the herbs This dish is something special. Herbs add flavor, nuance, and satisfaction. So, even if it doesn’t look like it, this Greek Orzo Salad represents everything about our philosophy of cooking, health, life and community, all in one dish. It’s about living deliciously. Read on to learn more about what it means to cook with herbs and this Herb Orzo Salad!
Related: 10 Summer Salads You Need Right Now | Watermelon salad with feta and cucumber
How to live deliciously
Our friends from Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove asked Alex and I how deliciously we live, so we created this Greek Orzo Salad to show you just that. They’re high-end brands in cooling, cooking, and dishware (you might remember we visited their Madison headquarters a few years ago). Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove are not only passionate about making kitchenware of the highest quality, they also spread a philosophy that goes beyond the kitchen. It’s about putting down our phones, picking up our forks, and savoring every delicious, salty and sweet taste of the good life.
Cooking with herbs
So how does it actually look, in real life? For us, it’s this orzo salad recipe, loaded with fresh dill and mint from our herb garden. Alex and I have been growing a garden for about 10 years and we’ve made millions of mistakes in the process. But for us, having delicious fresh herbs to cook with is infinitely worth it. And it helps us feel grounded in incredible ways. Cooking from our garden is our greatest honor. Sharing those little plants that we’ve been caring for all season with our friends and family on our patio, well, there’s nothing quite like it.
Here are some tips and tricks to grow your herbs yourself: in the garden or in pots! Then you can make recipes like this orzo salad recipe in no time (it’s so much easier and more fun than buying it packaged at the store).
Design your grow space: a vegetable garden or pots.
This year we created elevated vegetable gardens with cinder blocks, an inexpensive and easy way to create a garden. Alex created a rectangular path and constrained it concrete blocksthen fill it in with a mixture compost, peat moss and vermiculite. Using it in place of the original soil will help the herbs thrive. Don’t have a property? No worries! You can grow herbs either in a garden area or in pots on a sunny ledge. For more information, see these articles: How to Grow Herbs | How To Grow Basil | How To Harvest Basil | How to store fresh basil.
To top it off, we decorative adhesive tiles 8 x 8″ on our cinder blocks to make it look more finished. The tiles were sourced from our local DIY and gardening store and were the perfect dimensions to fit the cinder blocks. There is a beautiful finished result!
As you can see, our two year old Larson absolutely LOVES the garden. We are there almost every day to water and dig. It is therefore also a pedagogical tool!
Buy your herbs early.
While it can be tempting to want to grow herbs from seed, we have found that for the most part it is easier to grow from the start as it results in the most resilient plants. Where to buy herbal plants? We start with our herbs at our local farmers market, but you can also buy them at home and garden stores. When you bring them home, plant them in full sun. Be sure to water them regularly. When planting basil, be sure to periodically pinch the tips of the stems to prevent them from forming seeds: this will form new branches of the bush in their place.
Where to start Here are some of our favorites (which are reflected in our orzo salad recipe): Basil, Dill, Mint, Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary, Chives, Sage
Cook with herbs!
Once you have a thriving herb garden, comes the fun part: cooking with it! There are many amazing ways to add herbs to recipes. Here are some of our favorite ways to cook with herbs, with enough recipes for a big dinner party!
How to Make an Orzo Salad
And now: how to make this Greek Orzo Salad recipe! First things first: What is Orzo? Although it looks a bit like rice, orzo is actually a small rice-shaped pasta! It is often used in Mediterranean recipes such as Italian and Greek cuisine. Here we’ve harnessed all the flavors of Greece for this orzo salad: salty feta cheese, kalamata olives, and of course, potent herbs like mint and dill!
How to Make an Orzo Salad:
- Cook the orzo. Orzo usually takes about 7-8 minutes to cook: cook it according to package directions, but start tasting al dente a few minutes before the package says it’s al dente. al dente means tender but with an inner firmness.
- Season the chickpeas. To add flavor to the chickpeas, toss them in a bowl with the lemon juice, zest, and salt and let sit while you prepare the salad.
- Chop the veggies. Chop the cucumber, roasted red pepper, red onion and herbs.
- Mix everything. Then mix all the vegetables and herbs with olive oil, white wine vinegar, feta cheese and Kalamata olives.
Are you ready? Let’s cook!
Related: 15 summer side dishes you need
This Orzo Salad Recipe is…
Vegetarian. For gluten free, look for gluten free orzo.
The description
A crowd favorite, this Herbed Orzo Salad is bursting with Greek flavors ranging from fresh dill and mint to feta cheese and tangy lemon.
- 8 ounces barley pasta (1 ¼ cup dry)
- 1 cup Canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 lemon, juice and zest (approx 2 tablespoons Juice)
- ¼ cup chopped shallot or red onion
- 1/2 English cucumber (2 cups diced, or substitute a regular peeled cucumber)
- 2 roasted red peppers in a jar or ½ fresh red pepper (½ cup diced)
- ⅓ cup chopped dill, plus more for garnish
- ⅓ cup chopped mint
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ⅓ cup Kalamata olives, halved
- Black pepper
- Prepare orzo according to package directions. Taste the orzo a few minutes before the end to make sure it’s al dente (soft but with some firmness in the center). When done, drain and then rinse under cold water until it comes to room temperature.
- Place the chickpeas in a bowl with the lemon zest, lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt.
- Slice the red onion, then place in a bowl of water (this will help remove the onion’s pungent flavor). dice cucumber. Dice the roasted red peppers. Chop the herbs.
- Combine orzo, chickpeas, and a bowl of lemon juice, red onion, cucumber, red bell pepper, dill, mint, white wine vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, oregano, crumbled feta, black olives, and several black peppercorns. Taste and add more kosher salt if necessary.
- Category: garnish
- Method: Cook
- Kitchen: Greek
Keywords: Orzo Salad, Orzo Salad Recipe, Greek Orzo Salad,
