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Instant pot: Orzo pasta salad


Herb-Lovers Lemony Orzo Salad

First off, this has nothing to do with an instant pot but I know that when I search for recipes I wasn’t smart enough to have the keyword ‘recipe’ but I sure have the keyword ‘instant pot’ that I search for!  So I would hate to see this recipe get lost because I don’t use the right keyword.

I did a variation on this salad and it was a hit.  It was a variation because I didn’t have some of the ingredients.  Listed below is what I changed for me to remember what I did!

 

INGREDIENTS

  • 12 ounces uncooked orzo
  • 0.5 large handfuls fresh baby spinach, chopped
  • 1 (398 ml) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
  • 1 English cucumber, diced
  • 0.5 cup basil leaves
  • Lots of lemon juice (recipe asked for 12 lemons, zested and juiced)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 cup of feta cheese
  • 1 small can of sliced black olives

Notes:

– I didn’t have the 2 cups of baby spinach they asked for.

– I didn’t have 1/2 red onion on hand

– The recipe asked for roughly cut basil leaves.  I didn’t have actual leaves on hand but I had some in a spice rack.  I ended up using 1/2 cup of basil leaves which I was worried about but I think it came out well.  On the other hand, Sierra didn’t like the ‘black bits’ on the salad and didn’t want to eat any so…maybe I should make her a non-basil bowl the next time?

–  The recipe asked for a 1 cup of roughly chopped mint leaves and I had no mint.

– I didn’t have any lemons on hand to zest and juice.  I added some lemon juice.  Then when we ate the salad we wanted more.  A lot more.  So I think if we had lemons on hand it would be great if they were zested and juiced.

– The olives were a great addition and I think would be even better if we added sliced kalamata olives the next time.

There is quite a bit left over.  Probably eat another meal.