INGREDIENTS

  • Lemon (1)
  • Olive oil-extra virgin 20-30 ml
  • Raw Orzo Pasta 1 cup
  • Basil leaves fresh 1 full cup
  • Tomatoes medium size (2)
  • Pepper and salt according to the taste

This is a simple Orzo Pasta Salad. This salad is super easy to prepare and a perfect one for summer picnics. This is a great recipe for barbecues and potlucks as well! This is a side dish that everyone can enjoy with their main course meal. 

DIRECTIONS

  1. From lemon you have to get the lemon zest. The zest you can remove with the help of a small grater or you can also use microplane. Keep the zest in a large bowl and keep it aside.
  2. Now, cut the zested lemon in half and squeeze lemon juice in the same bowl you have taken the zest. At this step, you have to make sure that no seeds are coming into the mix. In this juice, add olive oil, pepper, and salt. Mix all the ingredients with a light hand and keep it aside.

  1. Cook the Orzo Pasta with lots of salt. Cook it till it gets a soft texture. Take out a half cup of pasta water and keep it aside. Drain out excess water from pasta and add the cooked pasta in lemon zest mix which we prepare in the bowl.
  2. Mix all ingredients well and add half-cup pasta water in the bowl. The dish will look little water but don’t worry; the paste will absorb the excess water.
  3. Allow Orzo to cool at the room temperature. Once it cools down, add chopped tomato, chopped basil leaves and mix everything well. Take out the Orzo in an air-tight container and keep it in the refrigerator for two hours. After two hours, the dish becomes ready to serve.

TIPS

  • You can add seasoning in dish according to your taste.
  • If you don’t have fresh lemon, then you can add lemon juice.