Description
A briny, herby orzo pasta salad with chickpeas and feta. Perfect for a meal-prepped lunch or dinner that can easily be adapted with seasonal product.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 8 ounces dried orzo
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1.5 cups parsley, finely chopped
- 1 cup chopped castelvetrano olives
- 1 jar marinated artichokes, drained
- 2-3 green onions, sliced
- Juice from 2-3 juicy lemons
- 3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 cup pistachios, roughly chopped
- 1 cup feta
- Optional: 1 cup shelled peas
- Spinach or arugula, for serving
Instructions
- Make orzo. Fill a large pot with 2 quarts of water (about 8 cups), and salt until it tastes like the sea. Bring it to a boil, add the orzo, and boil for 5-7 minutes. Drain through a fine mesh sieve and rinse with cool water.
- Prep orzo salad ingredients. Combine chickpeas, parsley, castelvetrano olives, marinated artichokes, and sliced green onions in a large bowl. Squeeze in lemon juice and pour in olive oil. Add cooled orzo and toss to evenly coat.
- Pistachios and feta. Add pistachios and feta and gently toss to combine. Transfer to an airtight container and save in fridge for dinners or lunches during the week. Add spinach or other seasonal greens to serve (I like adding right before serving so they don’t get mushy in the fridge).
Notes
- Peas: Since I developed this recipe during pea season, I used peas in it a lot as I was testing. Fresh shell peas are best (e.g. English peas), but you can also use thawed frozen peas. Note that the frozen peas will naturally look less green as they sit in the fridge.
- Make it seasonal: This pasta salad relies a lot of pantry staples, which makes it an excellent foundation for whatever seasonal produce you have. Instead of peas, use chopped tomatoes, peppers, cilantro chives, diced cucumbers... whatever is at peak where you live.
- Storage instructions: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. I don't recommend freezing this pasta salad.
- Taste & adjust: Taste and add more olive oil, lemon, salt, and/or pepper! I often find myself adding more lemon juice to get the right amount of liquid (not soaked but not dry).
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Salad
- Method: Boiling
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 461
- Sugar: 5.9 g
- Sodium: 830.3 mg
- Fat: 21.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 52 g
- Fiber: 10.2 g
- Protein: 17.8 g
- Cholesterol: 22.3 mg
