Salad Season: Effortless Orzo salad

Happy Easter, everyone! 

I hope you all had a lovely time with your families. I know my husband and I have been through a whirlwind of activities this spring break, with trips to Mexico, Santa Monica, and even the beach. Finally, today was the culmination of everything: our family Easter gathering. 

It's a tradition: all of the women in my family make ridiculously delicious foods, and everyone binges for hours. This year, as a newly married woman, I was finally included on the cooking crew. I was excited to finally get to show off my kitchen prowess...

and I was asked to bring a salad. *sigh*

Not to be deterred, I was determined to wow with my side dish. I was going to make the best darn salad my family had found. There wasn't going to be any croutons in my greens! 

I went online for fresh, new salads, and found this great orzo salad recipe.  I tweaked it to my family's preferences, doubled it in size to feed the entire crew, and went to work. 

It was a hit. I got compliments (even when I wasn't begging for them). I figured, why not share this one with the world? There's a chance others will be like me, and yearn to be upgraded to hot dishes for their next family gathering. Who knows; maybe this dish will get me up to the big leagues. 

Effortless Orzo Salad

Ingredients

1/2 cup pine nuts

1 pound orzo

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, or to taste

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, finely minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 to 3 red or yellow bell peppers

½ pound fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

4 cups chopped baby arugula leaves

2 cups chopped radicchio 

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. 

• Place your pine nuts in a rimmed sheet and roast them in the oven. Place them on the middle rack for approximately 8 minutes. 

• As your oven heats, cook your orzo in salted water until it's tender. Do not overcook; it's important for the grain to be al dente. Drain, and set aside.

• Dice your garlic finely.

• In a large bowl, combine the garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and oil. Whisk them together. 

• Add the hot orzo to your dressing and toss the grain. Do not add any of the other ingredients together until the orzo has cooled completely. As the grain comes to room temperature, make sure to toss occasionally.

• As your orzo cools, cut your radicchio into thirds, then cut each fourth into bite sized slivers. Separate with your hands. 

•  Slice your bell peppers, and place the slivers into a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil.

• Once your peppers start to blacken and soften, pull them from the heat and dice them into bite sized pieces.

• Finally, add your pine nuts, peppers, mozzarella, arugula and radicchio to your orzo. Toss well. 

• Season salad with salt, pepper, and additional lemon juice, if desired. Enjoy!