Orzo!

Ahhhh...lovely orzo. I often forget how much I enjoy eating orzo. Shaped like a large grain of rice, it is such a fun pasta. I must cook it more often. But, I also remembered today why I don't.

I suppose I don't have to do what I do when I make an orzo dish, but if I did any different, I wouldn't feel quite right. What do I do? Orzo, is small. Therefore, I cut my vegetables small. And, by small, I mean tiny. It isn't difficult to do, just time consuming. Especially with a 19 month old who wants to pull up a stool and stand right next to you while you are chopping away with a 10 inch (sharp) chef's knife.

Here's the salad we had for dinner:
*dice the following items to approximately 1/4 inch - carrots, celery, mushrooms, zucchini
*finely dice shallots
*chop garlic; however you feel like it, but pretty small
*chop basil
*cook orzo pasta until done, & toss in plenty of olive oil; set aside to cool (I spread it out on sheet trays in a thin layer for faster cooling, but I don't think it was necessary)
*cook mushrooms in olive oil, adding garlic & shallots at the end for one minute
*sweat carrots and celery in olive oil, add zucchini and cook until desired tenderness
*combine orzo, mushrooms, & vegetable mixture in a bowl and toss well to mix everything up evenly. Season with salt, pepper, a little vinegar (I used plain red wine vinegar cuz it's what I had, but would've preferred something like sherry vinegar), and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
*fold in chopped basil
*chill until ready to serve, or serve at room temperature

This was yummy. I think it needed more vinegar, but David thought it was just fine. It would've been fun to add some little nugs of goat cheese & maybe some cherry tomatoes, but I had neither available.