Our container garden is overflowing after just a few weeks of growing. I honestly am having trouble keeping up with the herbs I planted and am constantly on the look out for recipes to use them in. My dill is working out much better this year than last and I was super excited to toss it into one of my favorite summery side dishes.
I got this recipe from my friend Jodie a few years ago and it has been part of my luncheon rotation every summer since. With my fresh harvest of dill to use, I decided to make this part of a dinner by adding sauteed shrimp.
I'm usually such a recipe follower, but I just heated up a tbsp of olive oil, added some minced garlic, salt and pepper, and sauteed the shrimp till they were nice and pink. At the end I added a healthy squirt of fresh lemon juice. Easy and delicious! The shrimp complemented the orzo salad perfectly. Even the Peanut devoured her dinner and requested a second helping of the fancy "chicken." Ha!
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Lemony Orzo & Tomato Salad
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup chopped dill
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- juice of ½ lemon
- 1 cup orzo
- 1 ½ cups crumbled feta (6 ounces)
Method:
Toss together oil, tomatoes, dill, zest, lemon juice, and ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a large serving bowl. Let stand ten minutes.
Meanwhile, cook orzo in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente.
Drain orzo and toss with tomato mixture. Add feta and toss again.
Serve alongside sautéed shrimp or grilled chicken for a lovely summer dinner.
Moira Maggi
This is strange... 'orzo' is the Italian word for the English word 'barley'. What is 'orzo' for you: a special type of rice, barley or something else? Looking at your wonderful picture, your orzo does not look like barley.
Anyway, congratulations! I would also like to taste this fancy "chicken"!
Tiffany
lol! I think maybe this is another situation like our "fusilli" shaped pasta. Orzo is a pasta but refers to the shape--very similar to rice. For this recipe, it wouldn't be the same with any other shape pasta. Even funnier is that my package of orzo specifically said "Made in Italy!"
Moira Maggi
Oh, now I know what it is! And I confirm you that I love it! It has a very Italian name, but not common here. Usually it is called 'risoni', literally meaning 'big grains of rice'.
Mannys
I love orzo pasta. It has such a great shape and smooth terutxe that goes well with all kinds of add-in's. I've never tried umeboshi vinegar before but have seen it on the shelves. I am a vinegar pack rat and at this moment I have 5 types of vinegars in my cupboard: red wine, white wine, brown rice, balsamic and apple cider. One more won't hurt, right?