Summer Night Citrus Orzo Salad
As much as I love cooking, I am all about quick and easy recipes in the summer. The long warm days make it hard, even for me, to drag myself into the house to put something together for dinner. I want to spend every last second of sunlight hiking, playing catch, and doing cannon balls into the pool. Aren’t we all just big kids?
I usually make this recipe in a kind of “clean out the fridge” fashion, meaning that I throw in whatever left over vegetable scraps that I may have. I often eat this salad as a side dish with left over beans or tofu from a prior meal (it’s also great to pack up for lunch the next day). However, when I made this particular version of this recipe, I actually had just got back from a trip and had NOTHING in my fridge. Since I was starting from scratch, I took a second to think about what I really wanted to put in the dish AND added beans right into it to make it a meal instead of a side.
That said, the most simple version this salad is just orzo, arugula, basil, tomatoes, shallots and the dressing.
As always, make it your own, add whatever you like, and enjoy!
By the way, I have a slight obsession with lemons and tend to make a lot of lemon based dressings (I’m sure you’ve noticed). I just really love the freshness that lemons add to a dish aaaannnddd more importantly, the citrus may help repair DNA, which can help to prevent cancer. Learn more here. That said, if you are less of a lemon lover try orange, grapefruit, or lime in place of the lemon juice and zest in this recipe. Any citrus flavor will go well this this light, fresh tasting salad.
Happy eating and best health,
Dr. G
Orzo Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry orzo, cooked per package instructions
- 1 1/2 cup cannellini beans (white kidney beans)
- 1 cup packed arugula, coarsely chopped
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 1/4 cup packed basil, chopped coarsely
- 2 Meyer lemons, juice and zest (or citrus of your choice)
- 1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prepare orzo per package instructions.
- While the orzo is cooking, prepare all other ingredients (so they can be added to the warm pasta).
- When the orzo is cooked, strain and transfer to a large bowl.
- Add the olive oil first and toss well to prevent the pasta from sticking.
- Add all of the remaining ingredients to the bowl and toss again.
- Serve warm, at room temperature, or chill in the refrigerator (which ever way you'd like!).
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