Confetti Orzo Salad

dicentra's Note:

This is from my 365 Pasta Recipes cookbook, but I changed the original recipe quite a bit. Food should be attractive and this dish is really pretty and colorful. And easy to make! Cut the veggies really tiny. This is a great dish for work lunches because it is good hot or cold.

• Total Time: 20 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 ½ cups orzo pasta (or other small pasta shape)
• 1⁄3; cup olive oil (I use a lot less)
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon lemon zest
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1⁄8; teaspoon black pepper
• 1 garlic clove , minced
• 1 carrot , diced finely
• 1 ¼ cups bell peppers (red, green and yellow)
• ¼ cup red onion , diced (about 1/2 small onion)
• ¼ cup fresh parsley , finely chopped

Directions:

1. Cook orzo in plenty of boiling water until tender, 10-12 minutes. Drain.
2. Whisk oil, lemon juice, zest, salt, pepper, and garlic until blended.
3. Toss all of the ingredients together. Serve hot or cold.

Reviews

[ummrabiah]

Everybody that I have made this for like this. I've made this a couple of times already with different types of pasta. One time I added in some olives and shredded chicken for protein,another time tomatoes. I always use less oil than called for, maybe 1/8 of a cup.

[Sherri at the Beach]

This was really delicious. I too used less olive oil maybe an 1/8th of a cup and just the juice and zest of one lemon -didnt bother measuring. I also grated the carrot as my husband will pick them out if I don't. Nice salad to go along with our burgers tonight.

[McBeanbean]

A wonderfully refreshing salad. What I liked the best was how mellow the tastes were. I reduced the oil to 1/4 cup and served it cold. I will definitely use this recipe again and might try adding different veggies to see how it tastes. Thank you for sharing!