Greek Orzo Pasta Salad

This pasta salad is a great side to any dinner! Perfect to bring along for a potluck or picnic. The longer it sits the better it gets! Give it a try!

Ingredients:

- ½ lb orzo

- 1 bell pepper (whatever color makes you happy)

- 2-3 Japanese cucumbers or 1 English cucumber

- 1 pint cherry/grape tomatoes

- ¼ sweet red onion

- 1 garlic clove

- ½ lemon juice

- ½ tsp dried oregano

- ¼ tsp sea salt

- ¼ tsp black pepper

- 1 tsp honey

- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (approx.)

- 10-12 Kalamata olives

- ¼cup Feta cheese

Directions:

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook your orzo according to the package directions. Cook until al dente. Once cooked drain and rinse well with cold water. Your pasta should be completely cooled before adding to the salad.

I like to make my salad dressing directly in my salad bowl to save up on washing but you can make this in a glass jar or bowl.

Squeeze the lemon. Keep in mind every lemon is different. For this recipe what is important is the ratio.

TIP: When making any salad dressing it is always 1 part acid to 2 part oil.

Grate or mince in the garlic and add that to the lemon juice. Then add the dried oregano, honey, salt and pepper. Whisk this together before adding the oil to help the honey and salt melt a bit. Then whisk in the olive oil.

Once your dressing is ready you can add your red onion. I like to cut all my vegetables into approx. ½ inch pieces.

TIP: Putting the red onion in the salad dressing will help take the acrid burn from the onion as it pickles it slightly.

Then chop up the rest of your vegetables and add to the bowl. Toss well before adding the pasta. Once it is well tossed, you can then add in your orzo and toss again.

You can eat this right away, or let it marinade for about 30 minutes to an hour to develop better flavor and allow the pasta to soak up some of the dressing.