Summertime Orzo Salad

April 18, 2024 by 2 Comments

summer orzo salad

Spring is officially here and the warmer weather has arrived and so has grilling season. I know you can grill all year long but I much prefer doing it in the warmer weather. This orzo salad is the perfect side dish to anything you’ll be putting on your grill.

orzo pasta

It’s bright, fresh, colorful, easy to serve, and great for summer parties because you can leave it out and eat it at room temp and you don’t have to worry about it spoiling.

pasta salad

You might want to throw some colored bell peppers on the grill and cook them ahead before you assemble this salad. I usually grill a red, yellow and  orange pepper ahead of time, a day or two before, the grilled peppers really give the salad a nice flavor.

grilling shrimp

And like I said this orzo salad goes with anything you put on the grill from seafood, veggies, pork, beef and chicken.

grilling chicken

This will be your go to summer entertaining salad and side dish, hope you enjoy!

Summertime Orzo Salad
 
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This orzo salad is your go to summer side dish and salad with whatever you're grilling outside.
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Ingredients
  • LIST OF INGREDIENTS, YOU CAN USE MORE OR LESS, DON"T WORRY ABOUT EXACT AMOUNTS.
  • 1 lb. orzo pasta, cooked and drained and cooled
  • 1 red yellow and orange bell peppers, grilled then diced
  • a mix of green castelvetrano and either nicoise or kalamata olives, you can slice them in half
  • 1 can of chick peas, drained and rinsed
  • ½ can or so of canned artichoke hearts, drained
  • red onion, chopped
  • feta cheese, crumbled
  • 1 or 2 handfuls of arugula
  • lemon wedges for garnish
Instructions
  1. Toss everything together in a big bowl, adjusting for salt and pepper.
  2. FOR THE DRESSING
  3. /4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
  4. small grated garlic clove
  5. teaspoon of dijon mustard
  6. /3 to ½ cup of olive oil
  7. salt and pepper to taste
  8. Place in a jar and shake or whisk it all together until it all emulsifies
  9. You can double the dressing if you like if you don't have enough

 

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2 Comments Filed Under: Featured, Party Foods, Pasta, Salads, Side Dishes, Summer Tagged: , ,

Grilled Eggplant With Fresh Tomato Salad

April 20, 2023 by Leave a Comment

grilled eggplant

I can’t think of a more enjoyable salad to make during the warm summer months ahead than this grilled eggplant with fresh tomato salad.

It’s fun to serve for picnics, BBQ’s and any of your upcoming parties you’re planning. All I can say is that whenever I make this and lay it out on a buffet table people gravitate right towards it, not only is it super delicious, it has a pretty presentation and as an added bonus it holds up very well at room temperature.

charred eggplant

Grilling eggplant is so easy, just salt, pepper and olive oil both sides, place on the grill until tender with nice looking grill marks.

I like to look for medium size more slender eggplant rather than the rounder fatter kind, to me there’s less seeds, less bitterness. I also like to peel the skin off in strips, using a vegetable peeler go around the whole eggplant lengthwise making “zebra stripes”. If you take the skin completely off, the eggplant slices collapse and have no structure.

You can even grill up the eggplant the day before, then all you have to do is make your salad and assemble it all on serving day.

eggplant and tomato salad

Fan your grilled eggplant unto a pretty platter and then proceed to make your fresh tomato salad. Mine consisted of sliced cherry tomatoes, chopped cucumbers, red onions, olives, feta cheese, parsley, basil and olive oil. Here’s were you can add your own twist on it, you can replace the feta with any special cheese you like, I’ve changed it up many times myself by using provolone chunks, fresh mozzarella chunks, or even those cute little mozzarella pearls

grilled salad

Once you make this grilled eggplant salad I think it will become a regular for you throughout the summer months.

Enjoy!

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Leave a Comment Filed Under: Appetizers, Featured, Grilled Foods, Party Foods, Salads, Side Dishes, Summer Tagged: , , ,

Cauliflower Antipasto Two Ways

May 6, 2021 by 3 Comments

antipasto

If you’re searching for a salad that pleases a crowd, one that you can serve at any get together you might have, this cauliflower antipasto salad is the one for you.

This salad has all the mix of a traditional antipasto, it includes cheese, meat, marinated veggies, olives and other goodies. Quite a few antipasto salads include a pasta of some sort, but in this salad the star ingredient is cauliflower!

antipasto platter

This salad can be served cold or at room temp, it’s easy to pull together, it can be made ahead of time  and there’s no cooking of any kind.  Each bite is filled with hearty and zippy ingredients that have a nice crunchy texture.

Fioretto cauliflower

The cauliflower that I used in this recipe was a variety called Fioretto, it means little flower in Italian. It has a dense head with flowering tiny buds along with a pale green stem, it’s delicate and fluffy like a pretty bouquet.

Fioretto is a hybrid of broccoli and cauliflower, it is not GMO, it’s a hybrid. Of course you don’t have to use this variety to make this salad a regular head of cauliflower will be just as good, I was just lucky enough to come across this big beautiful head and couldn’t wait to use. it.

raw cauliflower

If you don’t see it in your grocery stores ask the produce manager if they can get it for you, you’ll love the sweet and tender florets it produces.

cauliflower antipasto

I blanched the cauliflower for 1 minute then ran some cold water on it to cool down, it was the perfect texture for this salad and you would do exactly the same with a regular head of cauliflower, there’s no difference.

What I like about cauliflower in general is that you can prepare it so many ways, you can steam it, stir fry, grill, saute and roast it as I did in the recipe below.

Italian roasted cauliflower

Here’s another way to prepare a nice, hearty antipasto dish. Roasted cauliflower with pecorino and parmesan which is served with a lemon aioli dipping sauce.

roasted cauliflower

Again you can use your favorite variety of cauliflower to make this, here’s how you do it.

Break up the florets from a head of  cauliflower and place them on a rimmed baking sheet drizzled with olive oil. Heat oven to 425.

In a bowl mix together 1/2 cup of bread crumbs and 1/2 cup mix of pecorino and parmesan.

Drizzle the tops of the cauliflower all over with olive oil, then sprinkle the crumb and cheese mixture covering each floret. Sprinkle with granulated garlic and a good handful of chopped parsley and black pepper.

Place sheet pan into the oven and roast the florets until tender and the cheese mixture is deep golden brown, tossing in between roasting to coat each side.

I like to serve this with an easy lemon aioli that I make by mixing mayo with lemon juice to thin it out, 1 small grated garlic clove, salt and pepper, that’s it!

roasted Fioretto

Two fun ways to serve up and eat a beautiful head of cauliflower, such a yummy and versatile vegetable!

4.7 from 3 reviews
Cauliflower Antipasto Two Ways
 
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Ingredient amounts can vary to your liking, this is a rough estimate, feel free to add more or less to your salad.
Author:
Ingredients
  • 1 head of cauliflower, broken into florets I used the Fioretto variety but any variety will due.
  • a mix of green and black olives, 1 cup
  • ½ cup chopped red onion
  • ½ cup of sundried tomatoes in oil, sliced
  • a small jar of drained artichoke hearts in oil
  • 1 cup of sliced salami, pepperoni, or spicy sopressata, medium chunks
  • ¾ cup of sharp provolone, medium chunks
  • ½ of a red and yellow pepper diced into medium chunks
  • ½ can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • ½ cup of sliced pepperoncini strips
  • a hearty handful of chopped fresh parsley
  • DRESSING
  • 1 part fresh lemon juice
  • 3 parts olive oil
  • 1 small grated garlic clove
  • 1 dollop of Dijon
  • salt and pepper
  • whisk together
Instructions
  1. Blanch the cauliflower first into boiling water for 1 minute, then remove it and cool it down under cold water, let it drain and pat dry.
  2. In a large bowl place all the ingredients, including the cauliflower together, tossing very gently until all is incorporated.
  3. Drizzle some of the dressing on and taste as you go for the amount you want to use, adding salt and pepper as needed.
  4. Place onto a pretty platter if serving right away, or tuck it into a container overnight.
  5. This can be served cold or at room temperature.

 

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3 Comments Filed Under: Appetizers, Featured, Salads, Side Dishes, Vegetables Tagged: , , , ,