Orzo salad with cherry tomatoes, mozzarella & pesto

This orzo salad with cherry tomatoes, mozzarella and pesto is a delicious summer salad. The pesto gives it a strong basil fllavour and a simple vinaigrette dressing brightens it all up.

I know summer is here when all I want to eat are salads. I love them, I need them and I start replacing cooked vegetables with crunchy fresh ones.

I have also recently fallen in love with orzo or Rosmarino – the rice-like pasta grains. I find the texture somewhat ‘slimy,’ and as pasta goes, I find it ineffective in soaking up the sauce. It’s kind of ok in a soup – to bulk up and make it more hearty, but when it’s cold and added to loads of crunchy textures and flavour-packed vinaigrettes, it really starts to shine.

This is a salad I am making a lot of lately. I love the addition of pesto to coat the orzo as the base of the salad and then I add all the other things. The red onions should be sliced so finely that you don’t detect any harsh flavours, and I always use a mandolin on the thinnest possible setting.

Sliced sugar snap peas give the salad the big crunch factor which is essential. Sliced cherry tomatoes go beautifully with the pesto and need to be very ripe and sweet. They also need to be seasoned well, so don’t be afraid to keep adding good sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper as you go. I love using Bocconcini mozzarella which I slice into wedges. Once again the perfect partnership to the basil and tomatoes. I have also crumbled feta which adds saltiness.

I make a basic vinaigrette of olive oil and red or white wine vinegar just to brighten it up, and at the end, I like to throw in few flavour-packed leaves like fresh basil, rocket, watercress or rocket. This adds herbaceousness which is lovely.

So hello summer and hello to tons of salads.

A few other salads you may like:

green bean and pea salad with lashings of parmesan

Panzanella

kale caesars salad with roast chicken

* Cooks notes ~ Add more or less pesto as it all depends on what you are using. I always have a very high-quality pesto like Pesto Princess on hand to add to things. Play around with the vegetables too. Peppers, carrots, zucchini and peas are fabulous to add.

Recipe – makes enough for 2 as a main meal or 4 – 6 as a side

Orzo salad with cherry tomatoes, mozzarella & pesto

A delicious pasta orzo salad with cherry tomatoes, mozzarella and basil pesto.

Print Recipe

Prep Time:10 minutes mins

Cook Time:15 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 1 cup orzo Rosmarino pasta
• 4 Tbsp pesto
• 1/2 large red onion very finely sliced
• 2 cups of halved cherry tomatoes
• 125 g sugar snap peas
• 120 gm bocconcini 5 balls
• A small handful of basil rocket or watercress
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp red or white wine vinegar
• sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

• Cook the orzo according to packet instructions, drain and refresh under cold water. Set aside.
• Slice the onion very thinly and place it at the bottom of the bowl. add the vinegar and olive oil. All this to soak for 5 minutes. Add the pasta and the pesto and mix well. Seas on to taste.
• Add all the other ingredients, toss and season again to taste.

Notes

Make this salad in advance to allow the flavours to develop.

Author: Sam Linsell

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