Orzo Salad with Tomatoes and Basil
This light pasta salad is brimming with late summer flavors and makes a great side dish for grilled chicken and fish dishes.
This salad can be made a day or two ahead of time and will stay good for a week or so in the refrigerator.
Fresh cherry tomatoes make this salad even better
Try serving this salad as a side dish with Mesquite Smoked BBQ Pork Ribs, Apple Cider Smoked Pork Shoulder, or Turkey Burgers.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Orzo pasta
- 1/2 medium red onion
- 1 red pepper
- 6 ounces cherry tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 ounce basil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/8 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Start by dicing the onion and red pepper into small bite sized pieces and mincing the garlic. Cut the cherry tomatoes into bite sized pieces and finely mince the basil.
- Cook the Orzo in a pot of boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. The Orzo should be cooked all the way through and tender, but not mushy.
- While the Orzo is cooking, sauté the onion, pepper, and garlic in a small amount of olive oil for two minutes on medium-high heat. The goal is to take the bite out of the onion and garlic and to start combining the flavors. After cooking the onion and pepper should still have a good crunch to them. Set aside to cool.
- When the Orzo has finished cooking, pour it into a colander and run cold water over it to stop the cooking process. When the Orzo has cooled down, drizzle with a small amount of olive oil and stir it in to keep the pasta from sticking together.
- Once the onion and peppers have cooled down, combine them with the Orzo in a large bowl. Add the basil, tomatoes, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil. Stir everything together and season to taste.
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