Veggie Packed Orzo Pasta Salad with a Milanese Gremolata & Lemon Vinaigrette
Fresh, flavorful and filling! This orzo salad is nice for meal prep or your next backyard barbecue! It features our Milanese Gremolata olive oil and our Sicilian lemon white balsamic — a stellar pairing!
See more: Milanese Gremolata Olive Oil Recipe Roundup
Veggie Packed Orzo Pasta Salad with a Milanese Gremolata & Lemon Vinaigrette
Fresh, flavorful and filling! This orzo salad is nice for meal prep or your next backyard barbecue! Inspired by Saratoga Olive Oil Co. Serves 12.
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 1 lb orzo pasta
- 2 large handfuls baby arugula
- 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/2 cup halved and drained Kalamata olives
- 1 container 12 – 14 oz quartered artichokes, drained (marinated or regular)
- 2 to 4 Persian or mini cucumbers seeded and chopped (or just sliced, if small)
- 4 mini sweet peppers seeded and chopped
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 2 lemons see chef’s note
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 Sigona’s Fresh Press Milanese gremolata olive oil
- 1/2 cup Sigona’s Sicilian lemon white balsamic
- 1 Tbsp Greek seasoning if you don’t already have a Greek mix, use a blend of onion powder, garlic, dill, basil, oregano, black pepper, salt, red pepper flakes, rosemary, marjoram, and a pinch of both cinnamon and nutmeg. Italian season would also be an option.
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 4 oz. Feta sliced into 1/4” cubes, divided
- For serving later: Sigona’s Fresh Press extra virgin olive oil *see chef’s tip
Instructions
- Cook the orzo to al dente, according to packing instructions. Drain and rinse until cool throughout with cold water. Transfer to a large bowl.
- To the orzo, add the arugula, tomatoes, kalamata olives, artichokes, cucumber, peppers, red onion, parsley and half of the feta. Toss together to combine.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, balsamic, salt, pepper, Dijon and spices. Pour half of this mixture over the salad. Stir to coat well and chill for at least 1 hour.
- To serve, top the salad with the remaining feta and a little more lemon juice. Serve the remaining vinaigrette on the size or add it to the salad and stir to mix well.
- *Chef’s tip: If storing this salad in the fridge for a few hours or overnight, you’ll need to revive it with even more extra olive oil and lemon juice when serving. If you’ve set aside some of the vinaigrette, you can add and stir, or use regular Sigona’s Fresh Press extra virgin olive oil or more of our Milanese gremolata olive oil.
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