Potluck Orzo Pasta Salad
"I made this for a work potluck- and was asked repeatedly for the recipe, so I put it up here. I didn't take home very much of it! The sesame oil and pine nuts are a bit expensive, but I think they are what makes the recipe. It's very easy and fairly quick to prepare."
- Ready In:
- 59mins
- Ingredients:
- 19
- Yields:
-
10 cups
- Serves:
- 15-20
ingredients
- 1 (16 ounce) box orzo pasta
- 1 1⁄2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 yellow bell peppers or 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 4 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 cups broccoli florets, bite sized (about 1/2 head)
- 1 (16 ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (Chickpeas)
- 1 (3 7/8 ounce) can sliced black olives (reserve half the juice)
- 6 drops sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (or bottled RealLemon)
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
- 1 1⁄2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1⁄2 cup olive oil
- fresh salt and pepper (I use about 20 grinds of the pepper)
- 4 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted (buy these in bulk at the grocery store)
directions
- Cook orzo in 6-8 qt pot of boiling water according to pkg directions (7-9 minutes) Drain and rinse with cold water; drain well.
- Toss in large bowl with 1 1/2 T olive oil.
- Add chopped vegetables, beans, and olives In separate small bowl, combine olive juice, sesame oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, oregano, dill weed, mustard and curry.
- Gradually whisk in remaining 1/2 cup olive oil.
- Add salt and ground pepper to taste.
- Add dressing to orzo mixture and blend well.
- At this point taste the salad, and add more of whatever you prefer (I added more dijon).
- Toast pine nuts on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes.
- Sprinkle on top of salad just before serving.
- Can be made 1 day ahead.
- Makes approximately 10 cups.
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Reviews
-
We thought this was fine. If we make it again, we'll probably omit the celery. -
Really tasty. I like the orzo pasta because it's not too "pasta-y". I didn't have bell peppers so I used some shredded carrots, spinach, and tomato. It was very nice, but I think I would use less oil next time; it was a little greasy.
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Excellent salad! Went over well at a church potluck. I must disagree with some other reviewers----I loved the subtle curry flavor. It was not overpowering at all. Perhaps the negative curry opinions come from a preconceived notion when you read the recipe. You may question how all those many flavors are going to work together. But, believe me, they do! -
I brought this to a potluck at work becuase I felt bad for the only vegan in the office, and it was a hit with EVERYONE! The leftover salad was gobbled up by the next day. I thought the combo of dill and curry would be odd, but I followed the recipe exactly, and the flavors worked really well together. I'm not generally a huge fan of curry, but I have to say the salad was excellent. As bekbek mentioned, I think it is best to make this salad in advance... The only change I made to the recipe was to make a double batch of the dressing so I could put 1/2 on the salad the night before, and the rest just before serving, because I have found that pasta salads tend to absorb the dressing when siting overnight in the fridge. Delish!! Thanks for posting! -
I'm bringing this to a potluck at work and hopefully it'll go over well. It wasn't until I was making this recipe that I realized the strange combination of DILL and CURRY. I think next time I'll leave one or the other out. Probably leave out the dill. I did add red onions. I think orzo is my new favorite pasta though so thanks for this recipe. It was fun to make and it did make A LOT - 10 cups.
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