Ingredients
Salad Ingredients:
- ½ cup wild rice
- ¾ cup orzo pasta
- ½ cup pine nuts toasted
- ½ red bell pepper diced
- 3 green onions white and green parts, sliced
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries lightly chopped
- ¼ cup freshly chopped parsley
Citrus Dressing Ingredients:
- 1 lemon zested
- 1 lime zested
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice from the zested lemon
- 1½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice from the zested lime
- 1 tablespoon liquid honey or agave syrup
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup canola vegetable or grapeseed oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
In a small saucepan, cook the wild rice in 3 cups of water. Bring to a light boil over medium-high heat. Once it’s boiling, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Drain and let cool.
In a medium-sized saucepan, bring 5 cups of water to a boil over high heat. Add orzo and cook for 10 to 11 minutes until the orzo is al dente. Using a fine mesh sieve, drain the orzo and lightly rinse with cold water. Set aside to cool.
On medium-high heat, toast pine nuts in a small skillet. Toss them constantly until they just begin to look golden. Pine nuts toast quickly, so do not leave them unattended. Immediately transfer the nuts to a plate to cool.
Once the rice and orzo are completely cooled, add them to a large salad bowl. Add the green onions, red pepper, cranberries, toasted pine nuts and parsley.
Next, prepare the citrus dressing. Whisk together lime zest, lemon zest, lime juice, lemon juice, honey (agave syrup), oil, mustard, pepper and salt in a medium bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients and toss to combine.
Refrigerate the salad for at least 2 hours before serving.
Notes
Orzo sticks together quite easily, so make sure to stir occasionally as you cook it.
Running cold water over the pasta will stop the cooking process. Bathing the orzo in chilled water works, too.
Another way of cooling the orzo is to spread them on a baking sheet, drizzle them with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, toss, and set aside to cool.
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 40
- Category: Salad
Keywords: orzo,orzo pasta salad,orzo pasta salad with wild rice in a lemon dressing