Classic Spinach Orzo Salad with orzo pasta, fresh spinach, feta cheese, pine nuts, Greek olives and red onions.
“Needs more cheese.” “Needs more vinegar.” “Needs less olives.” “You could add more spinach.”
My parents love it when I cook for them, especially when it’s a new recipe and they get to be the taste testers.
I love their input as they know a lot more about food than I do and their suggestions almost always lead to something better.
This spinach, orzo, and feta salad recipe comes from our happy family collaboration. Feel free to experiment with the proportions.
Many recipes I’ve found online call for twice the amount of orzo as the other ingredients I’ve listed here. I think there’s a lot of wiggle room when you’re working with great ingredients like these.
Spinach and Orzo Salad
ingredients
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8th ounces orzo
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Salt
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1/4 Cup pine nuts
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6 ounces feta cheesecoarsely disintegrated
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2 ounces Greek Kalamata Olives, pitted, roughly chopped, about 1/2 cup (about 20 olives)
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4 ounces baby spinach
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1/2 Cup chopped Red onion (about half a red onion)
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3 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
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1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
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1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (can substitute white vinegar or lemon juice)
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1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
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prize dried basil
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prize dried tarragon
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Salt and freshly ground black pepper taste
method
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Cook the orzo pasta:
Bring salted water to a boil in a saucepan (1 tablespoon of salt per 2 liters of water). Place the orzo in the pot. Uncovered, cook vigorously over high heat until al dente (cooked but still slightly set), 8-10 minutes.
drain. Rinse with cold water to cool down quickly.
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Roast pine nuts:
Toast the pine nuts by heating a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pine nuts, stirring occasionally, until the pine nuts are lightly browned. Be careful or you’ll burn the pine nuts.
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Puree half of the spinach with 1 tbsp olive oil, mix with orzo:
Take half the spinach and puree it in a food processor or blender, add 1 tablespoon olive oil. In a large serving bowl, toss the spinach puree and olive oil mixture with cooked orzo until the pasta is well coated in the puree.
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Mix onion, feta, pine nuts, olives, remaining spinach with the orzo:
Roughly chop the other half of the spinach. Then gently toss the spinach, red onion, feta cheese, pine nuts, and kalamata olives with the orzo.
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make dressing:
In a small glass, combine the remaining olive oil (2 tbsp), balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, mustard, dried basil, and dried tarragon. Place a lid on the jar and shake to mix. (You can also just whisk these ingredients together in a small bowl, but the in-jar method works great for getting a good emulsion.)
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Pour dressing over orzo:
Pour over the orzo and spinach mixture and stir gently until well incorporated.
Chill for at least an hour before serving.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 441 | calories |
| 29g | Fat |
| 34g | carbohydrates |
| 13g | protein |
