This exotic salad is always a hit! GORGEOUS vegetarian dish on a buffet table! It is delicious, bursting with color and very festive. The sweetness of the bell peppers, fresh lime and dried fruit blend beautifully together. This salad is best when refrigerated overnight so you can make it in advance, which is just perfect for a party dish! Who wants to fuss as you are getting ready for that fancy party!
Confetti Orzo Pasta Salad
Cuisinicity Tip: One little note that tells you the way I strive to strike just the right balance between nutritious and delicious: To optimize the fiber content (and therefore make it just a little more nutritious), I really should use whole wheat orzo pasta, but to me, it just doesn’t taste as light and tasty as the regular plain white orzo. Don’t get me wrong, I actually love whole wheat pasta in general but, to put it bluntly in my characteristic (not so dainty) Frenchie opinionated way, for me, whole wheat orzo tastes like cardboard!! As my husband always says: don’t make perfection the enemy of good! This pasta salad has plenty of other wonderfully nutritious ingredients to make up for it!
Author: Catherine Katz
Serves: 8
Ingredients
- 1 12-oz package orzo pasta
- 1 cup dried currants
- ⅓ cup dried apricots, cut in small pieces
- 1 tsp curry
- 1 tsp turmeric
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper seeded and diced
- 1 orange bell pepper seeded and diced
- 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tbsp capers
- Juice of 2 limes
- Fresh ground pepper and fresh chopped cilantro to taste
Instructions
- Prepare Orzo pasta according to package directions. Cook “al Dente” (i.e do not overcook!). Drain and run under cold water and drain again and set aside.
- Place cooked orzo in a large serving bowl. Add currants, apricots, salt and the 3 spices and drizzle with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Toss.
- Add the 3 diced bell peppers and capers. Toss with the lime juice and vinegar and add remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil, if desired.
- Add in fresh chopped cilantro and pepper.
Dianne says
March 28, 2015 at 4:00 pmThank you for your honesty . I appreciate it very much and I agree !!
Catherine Katz says
March 28, 2015 at 4:39 pmYou are so welcome Dianne!!