Cold Shrimp and Orzo Salad
Posted in: Food Photos, Lunch Ideas, Party Ideas, Salad Ideas, Side Dish Ideas | 7 Comments
This is an idea of mine I remade after digging through old food photos for the cookbook. I made it again for the toddlers birthday party and the family loved it, especially my mom and the father-in-law (I had to use the “the” it’s my thing now).
It makes a large number of servings but can always be halved. The salad is a great compliment to a summer BBQ and is a nice substitute for traditional Marconi salad. 
- 8 oz Whole Wheat Orzo (I use and order RiceSelect Orzo Whole Wheat Pasta
)
- ~3 cups fresh broccoli florets (used 2 crowns)
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 pint of cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 lb cooked shrimp shells and tails removed
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 20 fresh basil leaves (1 tsp dry would work)
- ¼ cup plain non-fat yogurt (62g)
- 1-2 cups baby spinach leaves (85g)
- Salt and pepper
- About a ¼ cup of water
Cook the Orzo according to package.
While the pasta is cooking, clean and prepare all the veggies and place in a large bowl with the cooked shrimp.
Note: you may want to blanch the broccoli if you don’t like it raw. When the water boils for the pasta I placed the cut up broccoli in the water for 1 minutes and the strained out with a hand strainer. Then I cooked the pasta in the “broccoli stained” water. It was a huge time savor and I liked the semi cooked state of the broccoli.
Put honey, vinegars, oil, garlic cloves, basil leaves, yogurt, spinach, water and a pinch of salt and pepper into the blender. Blend on high to and make the dressing.
When the orzo is finished, run the pasta under cold water to stop the cooking. Add the cooked cold pasta to the bowl with the veggies and shrimp. Pour the dressing on top and mix well. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for a few hours. Great leftover, just ask the Father-in-law. ;~)
| Servings | Amount per Serving | Calories | Fat | Fiber | WWPs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | ~1 cup | 165 | 2g | 4g | 3 |
Digg it | It's del.icio.us | Stumble This | 7 Comments » © 2007-2008 by Roni
this looks so good….. except i don’t like shrimp. it’s probably good without it too though!
This was posted in the St. Louis Post Dispatch if you wanted to try something similar:
Shrimp And Spinach Orzo
Yield: 4 to 6 serving
1 1/2 cups orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 or 3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 pound fresh spinach, stemmed and coarsely chopped (see note)
1 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined and patted dry
Juice of 1 large lemon, divided
Salt
Ground black pepper
Cook orzo according to package directions, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid before draining.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add garlic; sauté until aromatic and softened. Add spinach a little at a time, tossing until spinach is cooked down. Transfer spinach-garlic mixture to a plate.
Add shrimp to skillet. Cook until just done, turning once or twice.
Stir in half the lemon juice. Gradually add cooked orzo, stirring to combine. Return spinach to pan; stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper and additional lemon juice, if desired. If mixture is dry, add cooking liquid a little at a time until just moistened.
Per serving (based on 6): 177 calories; 3g fat (15 percent calories from fat); 0.5g saturated fat; 112g cholesterol; 17g protein; 20.5g carbohydrate; 1.5g sugar; 2.5g fiber; 190mg sodium; 104mg calcium; 573mg potassium.
Note: To substitute frozen spinach, thaw or microwave briefl y, then squeeze out excess liquid. Add to shrimp after a minute or two.
My husband made this for dinner last night and OMG it was sooooooo delicious! The colors were so vibrant. Along with the cherry tomatoes, he bought a variety pack which added more color to the dish… not that it needed more but I love tomatoes! :D
For dessert we had the Watermelon ice. :)
Great summer dishes!
I’m sure you hear this often, but when are you going to write your own cookbook? :D heh
These dishes rock and I love that you still post the WWPs.
This was excellent! I made it this weekend and it was a perfect summery, light yet filling dish. I actually follow this site, yet this was my first recipe that I’ve made. I am excited to try another one :)
I’m just wondering if you have ever cooked with Agave nectar? I saw this recipe and it sounds so good…wondering if the nectar would suit it well or not. Maybe I’ll try it…but honey does sound better!
I haven’t. Been thinking about trying it though.
Thanks for the reminder!
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