Orzo Salad

Did you know Basil can grow and multiply like weeds? If you did well good for you :P If, however, you are like myself and had no idea and thought it would be fun to sprinkle the flowers everywhere, well you have a Basil farm on your hands. I currently have more Basil than I do neighbors, friends and or recipes. So I'm on a mission to start using up some of my Basil. So don't be surprised if you see ten recipes in a row with Basil. Ok, not really but I really am on a mission to start using up some of this Basil, and to start I'm making my favorite Orzo Salad.

If you've never had Orzo, it's basically pasta shaped like rice. Orzo in Italian means barley due to it‘s resemblance to a barley grain. It is frequently used in soups, salads, or as a side in place of rice and pasta.

This Orzo salad is one of my favorites because it's easy to make (less then 30 minutes); you can make it ahead of time, in fact it tastes better if it sits a couple hours or overnight; it travels well in the heat, as there is no mayo in it; and it tastes delicious, trust me when I say everyone will love it.

Orzo Salad
Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups orzo
1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups red grape tomatoes, halved
3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
About 3/4 cup Red Wine Vinaigrette- Recipe below
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
1. Put broth in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add orzo and cook until al dante (7-10 minutes.)
2. Drain orzo and put in a large bowl to cool.
3. When Orzo is completely cool, add the tomatoes, onion, basil, mint and garbanzo beans. If you are making this ahead of time you may want to consider adding the mint and tomatoes closer to serving time.
4. Add the vinaigrette.
5. Serve at room temperature.

Vinaigrette Recipe*
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* I personally think this is way too much dressing and cut mine in half.

1. Mix all the ingredients together.

Serves 6.

Enjoy!