I had a variation of this made by my granddaughter, Patty when I visited their home in Colorado. It was awesome, and I must admit, I had never tasted orzo before. I think the secret to making a successful cold salad is that after the orzo is cooked, it must be rinsed repeatedly in cold water, otherwise it will be mushy.
I played around with the recipe a few times, and this is my finished version—however, it can be embelished so many different ways. A great way to use your imagination.
Orzo looks like a rice, but it’s actually a pasta.
Cook the orzo according to directions, but you want it to have a slight ‘bite’. Rinse repeatedly in cold water and drain in sieve.
I didn’t want to cook an entire 16 ounces of orzo, so I just used about a half cup dried, and about a cup of water. Brought the water to a boil, threw in the orzo, and salted it. Stirred until I felt the ‘bite’ was right.
For the sauce:
One tablespoon sherry vinegar
One tablespoon EVOO
One tablespoon squeezed lemon juice
Two teaspoons honey
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Mix all together. If you use the entire 16 ounces of Orzo, then multiply this sauce many times over. It’s good to save some of the sauce to add later, as the orzo has a tendency to suck it up (so to speak!).
In a bowl, place the drained orzo, and stir in the sauce
Add shredded cooked chicken
Chopped green onions
Golden Raisins
Toasted pine nuts
Just a tad of salt
A hint of the Mediterranean–I will definitely make it my way and Patty’s way again, and my thanks to Patty for introducing this tasty dish to me.
By the way, in Patty’s version, she used the same sauce, (but eliminated the cinnamon,) added onions, pine nuts, chicken, chopped green onion, little red and yellow grape tomatoes chopped up small and drained in paper toweling to remove most of the seeds, Feta cheese, and lots of chopped fresh basil. No golden raisins either. It was sooo good, and I’d suggest you try her version as well.
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