Orzo Salad

We all contributed something for dinner Saturday night when we went camping. I made Orzo Salad.  

I loved this dish the minute I tried it at a friend's birthday party. So naturally I had to get the recipe. Its got chickpeas in it. I love anything with chickpeas. Chickpeas remind me of going to the salad bar with my dad when I was younger. He used to always put them on his salad, right next to his heaping mound of cottage cheese. I guess good taste runs in the family.  

It wasn't too difficult to make while camping, either. It's just that there's a lot of prep work. If you know you won't be near a kitchen when you make this, you'll need to plan ahead and bring all the proper tools. Other than that, it's easy as pie.      

I got this recipe from a friend of a friend so I don't know the original source. I'm sure there are a million different variations floating around, but if you want to try this one, here's the recipe in all its glory:

Ingredients

Salad

1 package orzo (in the pasta aisle)

4 cups chicken stock

1 can garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas), drained and rinsed

1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, chopped

1 cup snap peas, chopped

3/4 cup onion, diced

1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped

1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped

1 container of goat cheese

Dressing

1 cup extra virgin olive oil (I used 3/4 cup, but you could probably cut it down to 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 teaspoons honey

2 teaspoons salt

3/4 tablespoon black pepper 

1. Cook the orzo in the chicken stock using the directions on the orzo package. Stir frequently so as not to burn the orzo.

2. Move cooked orzo into a large mixing bowl. Combine with chopped salad ingredients and garbanzo beans.   

3. Add dressing mixture and stir.

4. If you're not going to eat it right away (I let mine sit for several hours in the refrigerator), reserve the goat cheese until just before serving. When you're ready, mix in the goat cheese and wha-la!

If you make it, you'll have to drop by and tell me what you think!