This orzo salad with juicy pears, crunchy walnuts, and crumbles of daring gorgonzola cheese is filled with totally different flavors and textures for a straightforward and scrumptious mild lunch or facet. Drizzled with tangy balsamic dressing, the sweet-salty-nutty-zesty mixture is severely gold!
Don’t miss out on my different pasta salads, like this refreshing Apple and Celery Pasta Salad, or make this Spaghetti Salad for a enjoyable twist on a traditional. And to your subsequent gathering, the Potluck Pasta Salad is a favourite round right here, combining a wide range of flavors in a single implausible dish.
Final yr, I introduced this flavor-filled orzo salad to a Labor Day get together, and it was such successful! It was excellent for a late summer time day, with toasted walnuts, a bit of soppy cheese, a bit of candy pear, orzo pasta, and a zesty French dressing. My family and friends couldn’t get sufficient of this. It’s like these transitional wardrobes that effortlessly take you from summer time to fall—this salad does the identical to your eating desk!
Contemporary sufficient for summer time cookouts but filled with hearty substances which are scrumptious year-round, this transitional pasta salad has change into a staple in our household gatherings and potlucks.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe for Orzo Salad
- Filled with taste. There are all types of yummy flavors and textures occurring right here. This salad has tender orzo pasta, crunchy nuts, tender, pungent cheese, and ripe, juicy pears. The sweet-salty and soft-crunchy distinction is to die for.
- Straightforward to make. Boil the orzo, toast the walnuts, and whisk the dressing, and your salad substances are able to go. Toss every little thing collectively and it’s on the desk in minutes.
- Make it your personal. Not a fan of funky gorgonzola? Swap it out to your favourite gentle cheese. No walnuts within the pantry? Toast pecans as an alternative. You’ll be able to even change out the orzo on this salad to a different small pasta, or use grains as an alternative. You’ll discover a great deal of methods to serve it, too!
What Is Orzo?
I’ll admit, at any time when I’ve introduced out orzo at gatherings, there’s at the least one visitor who thinks it’s rice! However, orzo isn’t rice. It’s really a short-cut pasta that’s formed quite a bit like rice. Even when orzo is gluten-free, it’s firmly a part of the pasta household.
Orzo pasta is tremendous versatile. I take advantage of it in rooster orzo soup, casseroles like my one-pot shrimp with orzo, salads, and extra. Heck, I’ll even add it to a frittata. It suits into so many dishes, and it’s even nice by itself. In case you’ve by no means tried it, you’re going to adore it.
Substances You’ll Want
The perfect half about this orzo salad is the way it packs in a lot satisfying taste with so few substances. Take a look at my notes on what you’ll want beneath.
- Orzo – You’ll discover orzo subsequent to its different relations within the pasta aisle. It’s quick and slim, formed like massive grains of rice. An alternative choice is couscous, or precise grains, like pearl barley or farro, which might even be nice on this recipe.
- Pears – I like Anjou or Bosc pears on this salad. They’re each agency and good for slicing. Anjou pairs have a candy citrusy style, whereas Bosc pears are spicier. Use your favourite!
- Walnuts – Toasting the walnuts in a skillet actually brings out their taste. You may also use pecans or almonds.
- Gorgonzola Cheese – Gorgonzola is a kind of tangy Italian blue cheese that provides this orzo salad a full-flavored, pungent kick (see beneath).
- Dressing – All you want is good-quality olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper to make a recent French dressing.
What Does Gorgonzola Cheese Style Like?
You’ll normally discover two sorts of gorgonzola in shops. There’s dolce, which is sweeter and creamy, and piccante, which is the agency, crumbly variety that I take advantage of on this recipe. Piccante gorgonzola has a sharper, saltier taste. If you’ll want to substitute it, I like to recommend French Roquefort or an English Stilton.
In fact, if blue cheese isn’t your factor, be happy to substitute the gorgonzola on this salad with goat cheese, feta, or shaved parmesan.
Learn how to Make Orzo Salad
Together with your substances gathered, let’s make this orzo salad! You’ll be able to rely the steps on one hand, it’s that straightforward. Observe alongside beneath, and scroll all the way down to the recipe card for printable directions.
- Prepare dinner the orzo. First, you’ll boil the orzo al dente, then drain and rinse the cooked pasta below chilly water.
- Toast the nuts. In the meantime, toast the walnuts frivolously over medium-high warmth. Stir typically in order that they don’t burn. Take the nuts out of the pan as quickly as they begin to odor aromatic.
- Mix. Now, mix your orzo and toasted walnuts in a bowl. Add diced pears and gorgonzola cheese. Whisk collectively the dressing substances and drizzle it over the salad.
- Serve. Give your orzo salad a delicate toss, and revel in! See beneath for tasty serving concepts.
Ideas & Variations
- Don’t overcook the orzo. Prepare dinner the Orzo till it’s al-dente, about 9 minutes. Watch out that you simply don’t overcook the pasta, because it’ll change into mushy.
- Rinse the pasta with chilly water. Similar to making a pasta salad, you’ll need to drain after which rinse the cooked orzo below chilly water. One, it stops it from overcooking, and two, you need your pasta cool earlier than you toss it with the opposite substances.
- Use room-temperature cheese. Take the gorgonzola out of the fridge about half-hour earlier than you’ll want to use it. You’ll get the fullest taste out of cheese that’s at room temperature.
- Add-ins. Customise this orzo salad with extra add-ins like dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, or totally different fruits. Apples would even be nice instead of pears.
- Extra salad concepts. In case you love the mixture of flavors on this orzo salad recipe, you may also like this orzo salad with feta and pomegranate.
Serving Strategies
As a facet, I serve this orzo salad the identical means I’d serve a pasta salad. It’s scrumptious subsequent to cookout dishes like corn on the cob, turkey burgers, and grilled rooster skewers. It’s additionally nice by itself as a light-weight lunch. Or, flip your orzo salad right into a meal by including protein, like rooster or steak (steak slices style SO good with the blue cheese!).
Within the fall, the candy and daring flavors on this orzo salad make it the right pairing with roast pork tenderloin, with easier facet dishes like garlic steamed broccoli.
Make-Forward and Storage
Leftovers will maintain for 1-2 days within the fridge. After that, I discovered that the pears browned a bit of. Retailer this orzo salad in an hermetic container. In case you discover that the orzo has dried out within the fridge, drizzle with olive oil earlier than serving.
Extra Pasta Salad Recipes
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Deliver 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the Orzo and cook dinner for about 9 minutes or till al dente. Drain and wash below chilly water.
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Within the meantime, toast the chopped walnuts by tossing them in a skillet over medium-high warmth for about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring ceaselessly.
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In a medium bowl, mix the cooled orzo pasta, diced pears, toasted walnuts, and Gorgonzola.
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In a separate bowl, whisk collectively the additional virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.
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Pour the dressing over the orzo combination and toss frivolously.
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Serve instantly or refrigerate till able to serve.
Energy: 379 kcal | Carbohydrates: 51 g | Protein: 12 g | Fats: 14 g | Saturated Fats: 3 g | Ldl cholesterol: 10 mg | Sodium: 201 mg | Potassium: 277 mg | Fiber: 4 g | Sugar: 6 g | Vitamin A: 110 IU | Vitamin C: 1.9 mg | Calcium: 105 mg | Iron: 1.2 mg
Dietary data is an estimate and supplied as courtesy. Values could fluctuate in response to the substances and instruments used. Please use your most well-liked dietary calculator for extra detailed data.
