I owe this recipe entirely to my best friend of 17+ years. She made it while I was visiting during spring break and I absolutely loved it! Not to mention this was my first introduction to feta cheese and am now obsessed!
Even if you aren’t in college, I’m sure we all know the struggle of being a little tight on money. Consequently, one of the first things to slip when trying to save a couple dollars is our diet. For me, when away at school, I tried to make meals that required minimum ingredients, made a large serving for left overs, yet still used nutritious foods. This college [bastard!] orzo pasta satisfied all my conditions and is delicious! Needless to say, it immediately became a staple in my weekly meals when I got back from spring break!
Traditionally, orzo salad is a mixing of orzo pasta, oils, cheese, and vegetables. Countless variations exist for different regions, seasons, and personal tastes. It is so named for the short-cut, grain-like orzo pasta used as the base.
In my take on orzo salad, I have simplified the ingredients to 5 main players: pasta, olive oil, feta cheese, tomatoes, and seasoning. While yes, the actual orzo pasta exists, in this recipe, I swap it for a slightly larger pasta type, Ditalini. At first, it was just taking what the small market near my apartment carried, and when I saw they did not have orzo, I just bought the smallest thing they did have. In truth, I now much prefer the Ditalini pasta over the traditional orzo. I know, all pasta’s the same stuff just in different shapes! But the larger noodles just seem to have a lighter taste and hardier texture much more pleasant to me than the tiny, buttery grains of orzo!
The best part of this recipe is being able to save the leftovers separately to be made at a later time, so there isn’t quite as much of a rush before it goes bad. Even when I’m cooking for just myself, I like to go ahead and cook the entire box of pasta at once. I then take what I need for one serving [about 1-2 cups] and put the rest away in the fridge for later in the week. [Protip: If you’re saving the leftover pasta, mix in a bit of olive oil while it’s still warm before putting it in the refrigerator. This will help keep all the noodles from sticking together and will make it much easier next time you pull it out!]
This dish has been a great addition to my repertoire! Winter, summer, lunch, dinner, it works for all! It’s also a guilt free meal as well. Made with whole-wheat pasta and tomatoes, I can eat a whole bowl of this stuff and not feel bad!
So try it out, mix it up, make it your own and let me know what you think!
What You’ll Need
- 1lb Small Whole-Wheat Pasta [Orzo, Ditalini, etc.]
- 2Tblsp Olive Oil
- Feta Cheese
- Chopped Tomatoes [I like to use a handful of cherry tomatoes]
- Garlic Salt
- Cook your pasta. If making only 1 serving, 1-2 Cups should be just fine. If you want leftovers, cook the entire box. Protip: If you’re tired of sitting around waiting for all that water to boil, you’re not alone! No one knows where this myth came from, but you DO NOT need that much water just to cook the pasta! Just make sure you have enough to cover the pasta plus an inch or so to account for evaporation and the pasta growing as it cooks!
- In a small bowl, dish out 1-2 Cups cooked pasta. Add olive oil and garlic salt and mix, coating all noodles.
- Mix in desired amount feta cheese and chopped tomatoes.
Optional: Top with additional garlic salt and feta cheese for more flavor.
Enjoy!
bFit bFearless 