Warm Orzo Salad with Roasted Vegetables and Feta

I am quite honestly obsessed with this salad. Bold flavor and an ideal ratio of grain to roasted vegetables is what this orzo salad is built on. I stress to you, do not skimp on the vegetable portions even if you think it seems like a lot.

I’d say the serving size is 2-4 people depending on if you are serving it as a main dish or a side.

A few important things to note:

• The flavor is the best when this dish is warm. Yes, it is still good cold, but only as leftovers and because you don’t have access to reheat it.
• You can vary the vegetables based on what you have on hand, but these were some of my favorite to roast.

INGREDIENTS + DIRECTIONS

My love for even easy measurements is pretty clear in this orzo salad recipe as well. 1 cup measurement guides the ingredients and the dressing is made of tablespoons. Hope it makes the dish as easy for you as it is delicious!

• Orzo (1 cup dry)
• Feta (1 cup crumbles)
• Zucchini (1 cup chopped)
• Bell Pepper (1 cup chopped)
• Broccoli (1 cup chopped with stems)
• Cauliflower (1 cup chopped with stems)
• Red Onion (1/2 cup diced)
• Olive Oil (for roasting)
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper (for roasting and dressing)
• Sea salt (for dressing)
• Plain Hummus (2 TBSP)
• Dijon Mustard (1 TBSP)
• Large Lemon (1/2)
• Red Wine Vinegar (1 TBSP)

NUTRITION FACTS

These are estimates. I am not a food scientist, nutritionist or dietician. This information should not be used as medical or nutritional advice. 

358 Calories and 14 grams of protein per serving (4 servings) 

DIRECTIONS

Chop up all the vegetables into comparable sizes. I choose to go on the smaller side, which speeds up the roasting and allows for a little bit of everything in each bite. Toss in olive oil and fresh ground black pepper before spreading on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Be careful to not roast to mush!

Cook your orzo per the package directions. Try to time roasting and orzo to finish around the same time.

While everything is cooking make the dressing by combining the hummus, dijon mustard, lemon and red wine vinegar in a small dish. Add fresh ground black pepper to taste, I love black pepper so I always go heavier. Add some sea salt to taste, mix well and you are done.

Note – I elected to go lighter on the salt because feta has a nice salt taste that I didn’t think needed to be contended with.

Combine the orzo, roasted veggies and feta in a serving bowl, then pour on the dressing. Mix and enjoy your freshly prepared orzo salad immediately.

COMPANION DISHES

I ate this as my main dish for dinner and Freddy even had some of the peppers. For a toddler he loves bold flavors. If I were to serve it as a side I think it would go well with lemon herbed chicken breasts, lamb chops roasted with olives and tomatoes or grilled salmon.

I hope you enjoy!

As far as the Mike stamp of approval goes, he loved it. Now he only had it cold, which to me means he didn’t get to experience it in all its glory. But, it still passed the Mike test and got a ton of veggies in for the day.

-Chellie