Summer Orzo Salad

I brought this salad to a wedding shower today. It's a perfect blend of some of my favourite summer ingredients. I went to the market this morning and picked up some fresh organic ingredients. Sometimes organic is very expensive but I swear, it tastes better. Let's face it, the thought of eating vegetables and fruit covered in toxic chemicals isn't that appealing. I am really enjoying the market this year and I'm also really looking forward to enjoying all of the delicious food in Europe this summer. I hope you can try this recipe, and I hope you enjoy it! 
Summer Orzo Salad
-4 cobs of corn
-1 pint of mixed organic red/yellow cherry tomatoes 
-a handful of fresh basil (about 8-10 leaves) 
-1 avocado
-1/2 cup of pine nuts or slivered almonds
-1 1/2 cups of orzo 


1. Cook the orzo in a pot of boiling, salted water until al dente (about 8-10 minutes). Drain and transfer into a bowl. 
2. Cook the corn in a pot of boiling water for about 8 minutes. Drain and run a bit of cold water over the corn. Cut the corn off of the cob and mix into the orzo. 
4. Sauté the pine nuts in a teaspoon of butter until golden brown. 
5. You can refrigerate the corn and orzo mixture in about a tablespoon of olive oil at this point. 
6. Before serving, add the washed and halved cherry tomatoes. Add a full avocado cut into pieces and stir into the mixture. 
7. Chiffonade the basil and stir it in as well. 
8. I made a simple vinaigrette out of olive oil (maybe a 1/4 cup), red wine vinegar (maybe 2 tbsp), 1 tsp of dijon mustard and 1/4 tsp of each sea salt and black pepper. Toss the salad with this vinaigrette and half of the pine nuts. Sprinkle with the rest of the pine nuts and a few basil leaves to serve. 

Enjoy!!!


A few notes: 
-this salad is better room temperature. 
-do not add the tomatoes in until the end as they do not do well refrigerated. The basil and pine nuts are also better if it's incorporated at the last minute. 
-This would be absolutely divine with Rivers Edge goats feta, or any other soft, crumbly cheese. 

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