Summer ORZO recipe, Orzo salad with lemon

Orzo salad with lemon.

I had actually never eaten Orzo until I made Ottolenghi's Orzo with shrimp and feta. After that I started experimenting with it myself and it is now a fixed item in our menu.

 

What is Orzo ?

Orzo is a dried pasta that looks a bit like a large grain of rice. In the Netherlands, Orzo is still relatively unknown. It is an Italian pasta and because the Italians find Orzo similar to a barley grain, this pasta is called Orzo, or barley grain. Such a type of pasta is eaten in many countries around the Mediterranean in, for example, soups, Pilav but also as a rice substitute in Risotto or Paella.

Also check out this delicious recipe from Orzo with pancetta and peas.

I myself made a vegetarian Orzo salad with (pickled) lemon. You can make this dish well in advance, the recipe is ready quickly and is delicious on a beautiful summer day or to take to a picnic, for example.

Vegetarian Orzo recipe

I made a vegetarian Orzo myself but you can also make it very well with pieces of chicken breast instead of mozzarella.

For 2 people

Ingredients

• 125 grams Orzo
•  
• 1 stalk broccoli
•  
• 1 zucchini
• 1 buffalo mozzarella
•  
• 1 (pickled) lemon
• 4 tablespoons pine nuts
• 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
• Ghee
•  
• Olive oil
•  
• Pepper and salt

   

Method:

•  

  Cook the Orzo al dente according to the package
• Divide the broccoli into small stumps
• Cut the zucchini into small cubes Roast the pine nuts and sunflower seeds briefly until they start to color and then keep them separately
• Stir fry the broccoli and zucchini together in some ghee until the zucchini starts to color lightly and then keep them separate
• Cut the mozarella into cubes
• Cut the (pickled) lemon with skin and all into very small pieces.
• If you do not have pickled lemon, you can also use regular lemon. Then use only the flesh and juice. Then keep a slice of lemon aside as a garnish.
• Mix all the ingredients in a nice bowl and sprinkle the seeds over the salad last.
• Finish with salt and pepper to taste and drizzle some olive oil over it.