Orzo Salad

One of my favorite side dishes to make is my orzo pasta salad. A sweet and tangy dressing with fresh dill tossed with orzo pasta, fresh vegetables, dried cherries, golden raisins, and walnuts. It may not sound like an obvious combination of ingredients but they all blend perfectly together and this salad has been a huge hit with everyone I've served it to. A large helping of this salad is great for a lite dinner but It's also the perfect side dish for grilled chicken breast or with a sandwich for lunch!


1 box of Orzo Pasta
1 Large Shallot
1 Small Orange Bell Pepper
1 Small Red Bell Pepper
1 Large Cucumber
1/2 cup of Golden Raisins
1/2 cup of Dried Cherries
1/4 cup of roughly chopped Walnuts
For the dressing
1 Garlic clove (Grated or finely minced)
1 handful of Fresh Dill (Don't use dried)
Kosher Salt and Black Pepper
3/4 cup of Vegetable Oil
1/4 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar
1 teaspoon of granulated Sugar
1 tablespoon of Dijon Mustard

Start by boiling the orzo pasta in salted water and cook according to the instructions on the package until the pasta is Al Dente. For the dressing, remove the dill from the stem and chop finely chop. Add the dill to a mixing bowl and add the garlic clove, dijon mustard, sugar, oil and vinegar, and salt and pepper. Whisk the dressing together and season to taste. It should be strongly flavored.

Wash the bell peppers and chop them into small dices. For the cucumber, cut in half and take a spoon to scoop out the juicy middle and the seeds. Slice the cucumber into medium slices. Roughly cut the shallot and set the vegetables aside.

Once the orzo is cooked, drain the pasta and mix with about half of the dressing. Adding some of the dressing to the orzo immediately will help it from sticking and the warm orzo will absorb the flavors of the dressing. Allow the orzo to cool in the refrigerator for about 20-30 minutes. Once cooled, add the remaining the dressing to the orzo. Mix in the chopped vegetables, the dried cherries and raisins, and the walnuts. Stir together to combine and serve chilled.