- 4 cups vegetable broth (you can use water)
- 1 1/2 cups orzo
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
- 1 cup chopped artichoke hearts
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup feta cheese
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- For the Lemon Basil Dressing:
- 4 tablespoons dried basil
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Spring time is coming, slowly especially in the Northeast. I am a huge fan of light and healthy during the Spring and Summer months. This weekend I decided to make a whole bunch of healthy dishes for the week – this is one of my favorites – Orzo salad with feta, tomato, chickpeas, artichoke hearts and a lemon basil dressing.
I am a huge fan of orzo pasta and using it with a lot of meals. I decided to add some artichoke hearts, tomatoes, feta cheese and chickpeas. Once that is put together I decided to mix together a lemon basil dressing, easy to make not only for this dish but for anything else. Combine all the ingredients together than whisk the dressing elements and pour it over the salad and stir it up.
Directions:
- Pour the broth into a heavy large saucepan. Cover the pan and bring the broth to a boil over high heat. Stir in the orzo. Cook until the orzo is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring frequently, about 7 minutes. Drain the orzo through a strainer and rinse with cold water. Drain completely and transfer the orzo to a large bowl.
- Add the chickpeas, artichokes, tomatoes, and feta cheese to the orzo. Stir until combined. Season with salt and pepper.
- To make the dressing: in a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, basil, garlic, salt, and lemon juice until smooth. Whisk until combined.
- Pour dressing over orzo salad and stir until well combined. Serve salad immediately or chilled.
Cook’s Notes:
Instead of pouring out the vegetable stock – you should be left with about 2 cups which you can reuse for other recipes.
Hi there! My name is Alex Vasilakos and I just love to cook, so I decided to add to my Alex Likes to series by adding a recipe and food blog. I will share my favorite recipes for you and I hope you enjoy and share your comments! 
This sounds delicious!! I love simple salads like this. I was planning on making an Israeli couscous salad today – pairing it with this dressing might be a winner.
I love the layout of your blog. I need to re-design my blog, and this is making me have blog-angst/jealously.
Keep up the good work, my friend!
Thank you! Israeli couscous salad sounds yummy! What I like to do sometimes with the lemon basil dressing is get fresh basil leaves, take the garlic and the lemon juice and olive oil and throw it in a blender. What I have up is an easier way to make the dressing. Sometimes I hate to take out the blender.