Orzo, Quinoa, or Couscous Salad  

I make this same basic salad with orzo, couscous or quinoa.  This is easy and, again, elements can be made ahead. This “salad” has the added benefit of being your starch and vegetable!  Serve it with any protein and a jar of Costco picked asparagus and you’re off to the races.


This is a Meg original.  I always liked the idea of a pasta salad but decidedly hated it every time I ate it – big hunks of cold pasta with salad dressing and the odd bit of red pepper – how’s that a salad? It finally dawned on me that the problem was the ratio of vegetables to pasta and the enormity of the pasta typically used – a dice of pepper cannot compete with a big hunk of rotini! So… I started to use orzo in pasta salad which then evolved to quinoa and then couscous (for when I didn’t want to wait 15 or 20 minutes for quinoa to cook).

INGREDIENTS

  • Cucumber
  • Red pepper
  • Celery
  • Tomatoes
  • Red onion
  • Black olives
  • Black beans
  • Crumbled feta
  • Cilantro

Icing

SAUCE

toppings

dressing

  • 1/4 c lime juice
  • 1/2 c canola
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp cumin

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Chop the vegetables into small pieces (try to be uniform) – remember, no one likes a big hunk of red onion!
  2. Obviously, make more or less dressing based on how big your salad is.
  3. Put the dressing on the vegetables.  
  4. Cook orzo/quinoa/couscous per package in chicken stock and cool.  
  5. Toss orzo/quinoa/couscous with veg, cilantro and feta just before serving.

TIPS & HINTS

This ingredient list is only a guideline! Omit any vegetables you don't like or don't have or add something else. Arugula is a lovely addition.