Greek Orzo Salad

I love pasta salads.  But I have one problem with them.  Many recipes wind up tasting really bland.

So when I come across a pasta salad with lots of wonderful flavor it goes right into my favorites list.

I love this salad even more because I love Greek flavors.  I got this recipe from a friend, and I couldn’t help changing it up a bit to suit my taste.

Greek Orzo Salad

• 1 bag of orzo pasta (1 pound) – cooked
• 1 cup tomatoes, cubed
  
• 1 large cucumbers, cubed
  
• 1 can black olives, sliced
• 6 oz. jar marinated artichoke hearts (you can also use artichoke heart packed in water)
  
• 8 oz. feta cheese, cubed or crumbled
  
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill
• 1/2 medium red onion, diced
  

Dressing:

• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 lemon, juiced
• salt/pepper to taste
• 1 tsp garlic, finely minced
  

Cook pasta according to package instructions.  (Do not overcook.)  Drain.  Whisk together the dressing ingredients until emulsified.  Pour dressing over pasta while it is still slightly warm.   Place in the refrigerator while you prep the rest of the ingredients.  Toss all the ingredients into the pasta and chill before serving.

I love the smell of red wine vinegar and olive oil.

And lemon.  I love lemon.  I usually hold my hand beneath to catch any seeds, but I can’t do that and take the picture.

When it’s raw, I always mince the garlic really fine.  I love the flavor, just not biting into a chunk.

Salt and pepper to taste.  Whisk it good. Pour over warm drained pasta.  Then put the pasta in the refrigerator.  I missed the picture of the pasta somehow.

I love how this looks.  You just know it’s going to taste good.

Just a note:  I like the red onion diced into really small pieces, especially if it’s strong.

And I love how this looks.  Because I love feta and artichoke hearts.  This salad just keeps getting better and better.  I rough chop up the artichoke hearts and chop up the feta into small piece.  I didn’t have fresh dill, so I used a teaspoon of dried dill.

And toss it all together.  Thoroughly chill before serving.

We had this salad last night with grilled chicken.

It made me think of warmer days…