We love this salad – packed with veggies and Orzo pasta. The dressing is super easy to make and comes together quickly. Serve the salad as a side dish or check the notes below to turn it into a main dish.
We love this cold salad on a warm summer afternoon and it packs up perfectly for a picnic.
Marinated Vegetable Orzo Salad
Course: Salads, Side Dish6-8
servings30
minutes2
hoursBeautiful and Tangy Summer Salad
Ingredients
- Dijon Marinade
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cup white wine vinegar
3 tsp Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
- Vegetables
4-5 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 head cauliflower, separated into pieces
1 lb broccoli
1 lb asparagus
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 cans pitted ripe olives, drained
1 lb box Orzo pasta, cooked and cooled
fresh baby spinach
Directions
- In a bowl combine the marinade ingredients and beat with a wire whip until smooth.
- In a vegetable steamer, steam the carrots and cauliflower over boiling water until just softened, about 5-7 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Separately steam the broccoli and asparagus until tender about 2-4 minutes and plunge into chilled water to retain the bright green color. Drain well.
- Marinate the carrots, cauliflower, olives, cherry tomatoes at least 2 hours, or overnight. Leave out the broccoli and asparagus and keep separate to retain green color.
- Cook the Orzo as per container directions, set aside to cool.
- When ready to assemble, add marinated vegetables to cooked Orzo and toss in the broccoli, asparagus, and fresh spinach leaves. Any remaining marinade can be added for additional dressing.
Notes
- To turn this into an entree salad, just add meat and cheese cubes.