Orzo Pasta Salad with Shrimp and Mediterranean Style Ingredients

Orzo pasta has a wonderful creamy flavor that lends itself well to mixing in various ingredients and is versatile in that it can be served warm or chilled. Mediterranean types of ingredients are being used to create an easy make ahead chilled salad that is perfect for dinner or lunch or for bringing to a gathering. Ingredient amounts serves 4 as a meal.

Ingredients

1/2 lb. of shrimp peeled, deveined and cooked or frozen ready to eat shrimp thawed and tail removed (try to get medium sized shrimp raw or frozen)
1 whole roasted red pepper chopped – see Roasting Peppers technique if needed
2 1/2 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of orzo pasta
1 cup of canned quartered artichokes drained
1/2 cup of pitted kalamata olives cut in half
1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup of Girard’s® brand Greek Feta Vinaigrette

Technique

Peel, devein, cook shrimp and refrigerate or thaw frozen shrimp. Make the roasted red peppers and set aside. In a medium pot add broth and orzo pasta and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and cook for about 20 – 30 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Stir frequently. While pasta is cooking prepare the rest of the salad. In a large bowl add roasted red peppers, artichokes, kalamata olives and shrimp. Once orzo is done add to the bowl and stir in dressing. Refrigerate until chilled. Add feta cheese and drizzle with more dressing if needed. Stir to incorporate. Serve and enjoy!

Suggested Beverage

For lunch, try an ice tea or lemonade or for dinner try Fog Bank Vineyards Chardonnay (Monterey County), Cupcake Vineyards Chardonnay (Central Coast, California), Irony Chardonnay (Napa Valley), Fat Tire Amber Ale New Belgium Brewing (Ft. Collins, CO) or Flensburger Brauerei Gold Premium Lager Beer (Germany).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.