I’ve shared a lot of recipes so far on Love and Duck Fat, but I can’t believe it’s taken me THIS LONG to share this one. You see, my orzo salad recipe is legendary (in my small circle of friends and family). It has actually made an appearance once on my blog before in photos, but I never got around to posting the recipe. You can see it here at my son’s first birthday party.
Orzo salad is one of the recipes I make over and over. I serve it at parties, I pack it up for lunch, we eat it for dinner, late night snacks and even the occasional breakfast–and we never tire of it.
The inspiration for my orzo salad recipe first came from Whole Food’s orzo salad; which is good. When I lived in Boston, I regularly picked up a pint of it on my way to work. I decided to improve on their recipe, which is why this salad is so much better. I make sure that every bite has something fresh and yummy in it. The mix of tastes and textures make this orzo salad so much fun to eat. There’s feta cheese, toasted pine nuts, tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, baby spinach, artichokes, black olives, roasted peppers, balsamic vinegar and lots of good olive oil. I mix in fresh herbs like rosemary and mint and they really amp up the flavor.
Most of these ingredients are something I keep on hand in my pantry and refrigerator at all times, so it’s easy to make this salad whenever I want. It’s also easy to customize, adding or subtracting whatever you have on hand or desire.
Once made, this orzo salad keeps well too. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to three days and still be as good as when you first made it. Bring it to a pot luck or serve it at a barbecue this summer and see it disappear. Every time I make it, I get asked for the recipe, which is why I’m so happy to finally share it here with everyone on Love and Duck Fat.
If you do make this salad, I would love to hear how much you enjoyed it in the comment section below.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
Method
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt to the water. Add pasta and cook until al dente (about 7 minutes). Drain pasta and add it to a bowl. Drizzle with a little olive oil and toss. Allow to cool completely.
Using a small skillet toast the pine nuts over medium-high heat until they are slightly brown and fragrant.
Toss the orzo with the pine nuts, tomato, onion, herbs, artichokes, olives, feta cheese, cucumber and red pepper.
Add the spinach leaves and vinaigrette. Toss again. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
With all of the pumpkin recipes floating around this time of year, I needed to make a sweet pumpkin treat for baby! This baby food pumpkin pie is full of healthy ingredients and low in sugar. It tastes yummy and can be served two ways as a meal for baby. Instead of sugary condensed milk, this delicious recipe has Greek yogurt and just a touch of maple syrup (maple syrup is low glycemic), along with fresh roasted pumpkin and warming spices.
You can puree this and serve it as-is or pile it in baby-sized baking dishes. If your baby is younger, between 6-9 months, the simple puree is better because it has a smooth texture. If your baby or toddler is eating a little texture in her food, bake up a mini crust-less pie. Baking this recipe concentrates the flavor so it tastes even yummier.
This may be one of my last pureed baby food recipes. My son, Grayson is almost a year old and he rarely eats baby food (even homemade!). He wants to feed himself, so we are moving on to finger foods.
Ingredients
Method
Preheat oven to 350° F/180°. Cut the pumpkin in half crosswise. Using a spoon, scrape out the seeds.Oil the bottom of the pan with a little bit of olive oil. Place the pumpkin halves cut-side down on the pan and cook for 30-40 minutes, until the pumpkin is soft and a knife goes in easily.
Allow to cool, then scoop the cooked pumpkin away from the outer skin with a spoon. You should get 1 1/2 - 2 cups of puree.
Using a food processor, puree the pumpkin (1 1/2 cups), yogurt, oatmeal, maple syrup and pumpkin pie spice. Taste for seasoning and add more maple syrup and pumpkin pie spice to taste.
Fill 2-3 small baking pans with puree about 1 inch thick and place into a 350° F/180° oven for 20-30 minutes, until the top is slightly browned on the edges. Remove and sprinkle with cinnamon.
