Description
A refreshing salad featuring orzo, vibrant vegetables, and a homemade pesto.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 1/2 cups dried orzo
- 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes (halved)
- 1 cup diced cucumber
- 3 cups arugula-spinach mix
- ¼ small red onion (thinly sliced)
- 1 can (19 oz) chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- Salt
- Pepper
- ⅓ cup raw pumpkin seeds
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp light miso
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 cups basil (or mix of 20g basil and 15g parsley)
- 1 cup spinach
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Cook Orzo: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add orzo. Cook al dente according to package directions, stirring occasionally. Drain orzo and set aside to cool.
- Make Pesto: In a food processor or high speed blender, add pumpkin seeds, garlic, nutritional yeast, miso, lemon juice, basil, parsley and spinach. Pulse to combine. With the machine running, gradually stream in oil, stopping and scraping sides down as necessary, until combined. Season with salt and pepper.
- Toss Salad: Add the tomato, cucumber, arugula and spinach, red onion, chickpeas, lemon and cooked orzo to a large bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper and mix to combine.
- Add Pesto: Add the pesto to the bowl and mix well until everything is coated in pesto.
- Serve: Serve right away with more fresh basil leaves, a squeeze of lemon juice, drizzle of olive oil and freshly cracked black pepper.
Notes
- For a vegan option, the nutritional yeast gives a cheesy flavor.
- Feel free to add other veggies you like.
- This salad is best served fresh but can be stored in the fridge for a day.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Mixing, Blending
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 4g
- Sodium: 150mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 16g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 45g
- Fiber: 10g
- Protein: 12g
- Cholesterol: 0mg