Mediterranean Orzo Salad

Mediterranean Orzo Salad
(Recipe inspired from Pink Parsley)

Ingredients:

• 1 c. of orzo
• 1 small onion; diced
• 2 small zucchini, chopped
• 1 cup of cherry tomatoes; halved
• 1/2 c. of kalamata olives; halved
• 2 cloves of garlic; minced
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Olive oil
• 2 T. of balsamic vinegar
• zest & juice of one lemon

Directions:

1. Saute zucchini & onion in olive oil (about 2 tablespoons) over medium high heat in a large skillet. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Add in garlic and & tomatoes, and cook for a few more minutes.
2. Meanwhile cook orzo according to package directions & drain.
3. Add the orzo, the zest zest a lemon over the pan, the juice of the lemon and the vinegar to the cooked veggies. Mix well. 

I served this as a bed for pesto-parmesan crusted fish (recipe found here) and this was absolutely delicious. Orzo is one of my absolute favorite ways to make a pasta salad, and the flavors in this were absolutely fantastic. The cooked vegetables gave off a good bit of liquid, but at the last minute I decided to add the vinegar and the lemon juice. This was a perfect side dish to the light & flavorful fish that we had as our main course.

This will definitely be in my summer side dish rotation!