Greek Orzo Salad

Now that it’s summer it’s time to roll out the salads! I first made this orzo salad for a bridal shower last spring. It was a big hit then, and so I made it about a dozen times throughout last summer. Somehow though, I never got around to blog about it! Well, I made it again last weekend, and so here it is!

This salad is light and fresh. It has just as much (or maybe more) veggies than pasta, and is dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. The feta cheese and artichoke give it the Greek flare and it’s really hard to eat just one bowl. Hope you enjoy!

Greek Orzo Salad

1 1/2 cups dried orzo
1/2 cup olive oil (plus some to drizzle on the cooked orzo)
4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
3/4 tsp dried oregano
3/4 tsp salt (plus more to taste)
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp minced garlic
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes, diced
1 red pepper, diced small
1 yellow pepper, diced small
1/2 a medium red onion, diced small
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

1.) Boil orzo according to package. Drain, rinse and toss with a liberal drizzle of olive oil. Set aside.
2.) In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, oregano, salt, pepper and garlic. Set aside.
3.) In a large bowl, stir together orzo, artichoke, tomatoes, peppers, onion, feta, parsley and dressing. Refrigerate for 1 hour to overnight.