Here’s something that is sure to surprise you. Growing up, I really hated pasta salad. If someone did manage to coax a sampling onto my plate, I would very carefully and methodically only eat the noodles. This meant using a fork (or my fingers) to peel away any of the other ingredients—often leaving a little graveyard of mayonnaise coated celery, onions and whatever else polluted the noodles on my plate.
Truthfully, I still don’t really care for mayonnaise-based pasta salad. I don’t like that sometimes you can’t see what you’re putting in your mouth because of the thick dressing. I especially don’t like a surprise crunch when I’m expecting a soft noodle.
So, what’s a girl to do?
Make a pasta salad you do like—and that’s just what this girl did. Enter my newest and very lovely creation, Lemon Basil Orzo Salad. It’s a great, zingy alternative to its heavy mayonnaise counterpart.
Better yet, only six ingredients in this little gem. Really, you can’t beat that!
All you need is orzo, lemons, fresh basil, sun dried tomatoes, cucumber and feta. The combination of these unassuming ingredients makes the best of salads. It’s light with a little pucker of lemon and a hint of saltiness from the feta. The sun dried tomatoes add a good contrast of sweetness and the cucumber and basil add the perfect touch of freshness.
- 3 cups orzo, cooked according to the package's instructions
- 3/4 cup feta, cut into small cubes or crumbled
- 2 lemons
- 1 english cucumber, diced
- 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
- 7-9 basil leaved, julienned
- Zest and juice the two lemons into a medium sized bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
- Let the salad sit in the refrigerator for about an hour for the flavors to combine.
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