Quick Orzo Pasta Salad

Ingredients

• 6 oz dry gluten free or regular orzo pasta
• 1 cup cherry or grape tomoatoes - cut in half
• 2 persian cucumbers - cut into bite size pieces
• 1 cup packed baby spinach leaves
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas
• 1/2 cup fresh spring peas ( optional)
• Salad Dressing
• 1/4 cup olive oil - skip for WFPB
• 2-3 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon All purpose seasoning mix
• Garnishes
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese or nutrional yeast
• 1/4 cup fresh basil -chopped
• salt, pepper and red chili flakes

Steps

1. Cook the orzo according to package directions until al dente. Drain the orzo, run some cold water and let it cool. You can also cook the orzo in the instant pot.
2. In the meantime, wash and chop the veggies. Whisk together salad dressing ingredients.
3. Mix the cooked orzo with cooked chickpeas and all the chopped veggies in a bowl. Add the dressing and toss it gently so the dressing coats all the ingredients.
4. Season the salad with salt, pepper, red chili flakes to taste, Garnish with chopped basil leaves and parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast.
5. Enjoy right away, or refrigerate for about 30 minutes so that all flavors mend well .
6. Cooking Orzo in a Pressure Cooker like Instant Pot
7. It is easy to make a big batch of orzo or other pasta in an electric pressure cooker like Instant Pot. I like to add 1 tbsp. oil to prevent the pasta from clumping together and 1/2 tsp salt and seasoning for flavors to the cooking water.
8. Use 1:2 orzo to water ratio and cook on high pressure at 5 minutes followed by quick pressure release. Use colander and drain any excess water. Rinse the orzo in cold water to avoid it from further cooking and sticking together
9. Cooking Orzo on Stove Top
10. Per package instructions, cook the orzo in the sufficient boiling water for 8-10 minutes. I like to add 1 tbsp oil and 1/2 tsp salt and seasoning to the boiling water. It adds some flavors and prevents orzo from sticking together.