After being cooped up all winter, I’m always itching to prepare delicious, light recipes as soon as the weather starts hinting of spring and summer! Hosting an outdoor BBQ is a great way to get your friends together to bask in the warmer weather and eat delicious food all at the same time! After you throw your favorite meat on the grill, coming up with a creative side dish can be a challenge. Luckily, I’ve got an easy recipe that is sure to be a hit with any crowd.
Orzo is a rice-shaped pasta that can be mixed with almost anything to create a light pasta salad that complements many main dishes. This Lemon Orzo Salad is brimming with fresh flavors and takes almost no time to whip up. Served in individual mason jars, this salad is as adorable looking as it is tasty! The recipe and how-to is below:
Lemon Orzo Salad Recipe:
- 1 lb. Orzo pasta
- 3/4 cup feta cheese crumbles
- 2 seedless cucumbers, diced
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
- Juice from 1-2 lemons, plus zest
- Mint leaves, coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup olive oil, tossed to coat pasta
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Serves 8-12, depending on size of mason jars. Best served cold.
Start off with a pot of boiling water and carefully drop in your orzo. Follow package directions, but don’t overcook; you don’t want a soggy salad! Once cooked, drain and run ice water over pasta to stop the cooking process. In the meantime, dice up your veggies. I like to use seedless cucumbers and cherry tomatoes, but you can add in onions, peppers – whatever strikes your fancy! Once the orzo is cooled, transfer to a large bowl and add in your veggies, cheese, mint, lemon juice and zest. Mix and coat with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
Carefully transfer to small mason jars. For a creative presentation, serve the mason jars on a tray with small forks taped to the side. Use patterned washi tape to add a pop of color to the presentation!
This orzo salad is so versatile, light and colorful that everyone will be asking for your recipe! Enjoy!
Jackie Fogartie (often known as Jackie Fo) is a NJ born, NC living event planner and freelance writer/blogger. Five plus years ago, Jackie started an events and wedding planning business based in Charlotte, North Carolina called Jackie Fogartie Events handling events of all sizes from intimate baby showers to large weddings. In addition to making events go off without a hitch, Jackie writes a blog covering all things food, cocktail and party. She has also written for brands such as General Mills, Aladdin insulated mason jars and Proctor & Gamble. You can often find her staying true to her NJ Italian roots by eating big bowls of pasta and drinking copious amounts of red wine. Cheers!
