Greek Orzo Pasta Salad

This Greek Orzo Salad is packed to the brim with flavor and so simple to make!

Ingredients:
80ml / 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 T Red Wine Vinegar
1 small bunch Fresh Parsley, finely diced (1oz/30g)
1 heaped t Dried Oregano
Salt, Black Pepper, plus more to taste if desired
150g / 5.3oz Baby Plum Tomatoes, halved
100g / 3.5oz Feta, sliced into tiny cubes
100g / 3.5oz Kalamata Olives, halved
3 T very finely diced Red Onion (1/2 small/medium onion)
2 small cloves of Garlic, very finely diced
300g / 1½ cups uncooked Orzo
75g / 2.6oz Green Pepper, finely diced
75g / 2.6oz Cucumber, sliced into thin quarter pieces
1/2 Lemon, juice only

Instructions:
In a large mixing/salad bowl, whisk together extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, parsley, oregano and salt & pepper. Add in the tomatoes, feta, olives, onion & garlic and stir to combine. Leave it all to marinate for as long as you have time for. I recommend at least an hour, which you can do at room temp. Any longer cover in the fridge (up to overnight). Stir everything every now and then if you can.
Cook the orzo in salted boiling water until al dente, then drain and rinse with cold water until completely cool. Give it a good shake to discard the excess water, then add into the bowl. Stir in the pepper and cucumber.
Stir in the juice of half a lemon (or to taste) then check for seasoning and adjust if needed.

Notes:
a) Marinating – Leaving the olives etc to marinate before you combine everything injects heaps of flavor into the dressing. All of the ingredients also take on a really lovely flavor too. I leave the cucumber and pepper out of this process, just because I don’t think they themselves or the dressing benefit from their presence at this stage.
b) Lemon – I love adding a final squeeze of lemon juice at the end to really lift the dish. I usually end up using around half a lemon, but you can just work to preference.
c) Serving – The salad is gorgeously tangy in the first instance, but it mellows out as the salad rests. I typically let it sit for 10 or so minutes before serving, just to allow the flavor to all marry together, but you can tightly store it in the fridge for up to a few days. The orzo dries out slightly the longer it rests, but it’s still delicious!

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