Light, summery, colorful and tasty – this Spinach & Orzo Salad is a treat to behold!
Yep! A real treat!
I was sitting under a dryer chair at the salon, drinking my coffee, flipping through the pages of a magazine (I save my Hollywood gossip fix for my salon adventures) when I decided to step outside my norm and pick up SELF, a magazine geared toward nutrition, health and wellness.
As I was checking out the latest on how to get my bikini bod in sixteen minutes, I quickly realized it was going to take me more like eighteen, so I lost interest and moved on to the recipes.
I stumbled upon a whole host of awesome Greek inspired dishes but one in particular held my attention. Spinach and Orzo Salad. Gosh, this is good.
I modified the recipe a bit, with some added ingredients and a little extra dressing.
It is light, it is summery, it is colorful, it has feta! It has feta! The feta provides the perfect amount of tang and brine. This, coupled with the brightness of the lemon and freshness of the mint is a perfect combination of flavors…I could live on it.
I made this dish last week while preparing for a 21st birthday, a graduation party, and a bon voyage. What I’m trying to convey here is that with so much on my mind, and household activities at an all-time high, I was still able to make it, easily!!
Normally, under such extreme circumstances, take-out is the only option. But this salad looked so good, it had to be done. Besides, cooking calms me. The clean-up afterward, not so much, but the joy of cooking, the delight in creating, makes the entire job worth it. And really, isn’t that what life is all about? Taking the good with the not so good.
The dichotomy of life…hmmmm, this theme keeps showing up. It’s trying to teach me something. What has spinach and orzo taught me? Well, now, in hindsight I see that it all worked out – every celebration came together – even with the time it took to prepare and clean up from making this delightful dish. It all fit.
Eleanor Roosevelt said it best when she stated, “You must do the things you think you cannot do.” Perhaps by choosing to make the salad rather than dialing for a pizza, I learned that I can do the thing I thought I could not do.
And upon further reflection, I realize this can translate into bigger things…things like adjusting to the quiet of the household come fall…adjusting to the idea that our oldest lives across the country…adjusting to the idea that we now have two full-fledged adult children.
We won’t have dinner together, every night, however, our dinners will now be events; events with tastier food, sweeter wine, and deeper conversation. We haven’t had bed time stories for a long time, however, we’ll make time for a long distance book club, character chats, and personal revelations, beginning with The Great Gatsby! No more good-morning kisses…no more good-morning kisses. Of course there will be things we cannot replace…some things we’ll just have to move through; no getting around them.
Wow – all this from a salad…can you imagine if I made a lasagna?
*Update: Things have changed in the last four years…Lauren is now home, working on her Master’s degree, Chelsea lives and works in California, and Nick, our recent college grad, is working in town and living at home! Stages and phases…simply wonderful!*
Buon Appetito!
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Spinach & Orzo Salad (Video)
- Category: Salad
Ingredients
- 6 Tbsp. olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- Juice and zest of 2 lemons
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 4 oz. baby spinach leaves
- 1 lb. cooked orzo
- 1 cup pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped
- 4 oz. crumbled feta
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced and chopped red onion
- 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves
Instructions
- In a small pan, warm olive oil over medium-low heat.
- Saute garlic until lightly golden, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Transfer garlic and whatever oil remains in the pan to a bowl.
- Add the juice and zest of the two lemons.
- Add salt and pepper then whisk to combine.
- Add spinach and toss lightly.
- Add orzo, olives, cheese, onion, sun-dried tomatoes and mint.
- Toss again & serve!
Forgot to pin? No worries….
CIAO!
Thanks for bringing this one back and like I mentioned previously I think on FB, I love this bowl (and your writing). You’re a wonderful story teller Annie and your photos here are beautiful!
Thank you so much, Kevin! That means a lot to me coming from you!! 🙂
Yum, Annie – I could eat this for lunch everyday – so delicious and easy to make – my kind of recipe!
Simple and delicious! Thank you, Geraldine!!
LOVE LOVE LOVE the video my friend! You are so clever (and brave) venturing into the world of video making! It looks so good 🙂 Also this salad sounds so yum! Thinking of adding it to my meal prep this week so I can have something tasty to eat at work this week x
Why thank you, dear! I am very lucky – my daughter has been assisting with the videos – she’s my secret weapon! 😉 Enjoy the salad and your week! xo
Yummy! Orzo is so versatile, and with this Greek spin, it is so delicious, flavorful, colorful and cheerful. A perfect summer light meal. Your pictures are beautiful, and your video well done!
This is my kind of summer cooking! Thank you, friend!
This salad is loaded with my favorite ingredients. So good! Pinning to try it!
Mine too! So worthy of our time and attention! 🙂 Thanks, friend!
LOVE the assertive flavors in here- those sundried tomatoes and kalamata olives are two of my fave pasta salad add ins 🙂 Also a huge fan of orzo! Pinning 🙂
Anything with orzo makes me happy! Thank you, my friend!
So glad you decided to redo this one! I love it! I love a good spinach salad, especially in the summer. Great video 🙂
It’s a nice mingling of flavors!! Thanks, Katherine!! 🙂
I love the photos, the recipe and I could eat that whole bowl of salad for dinner, no joke. I like that you provided the updates on all the changes, that was a really sweet touch. Time flies! Take care.
Yep – the day I made it – it was my dinner! And it hit the spot! Big time! Thank you so much, Stacey!
Beautiful video, Annie – I like how it feels true to your blog style: straightforward and elegant. And this salad, oh my! I love the orzo to goodie ratio – certainly will see this on our dinner table this summer.
Always so much to learn – I truly appreciate your feedback on the video – thank you so much! Enjoy the salad, my friend! I think you’ll love it! 🙂
Love the video Annie and this salad sounds so nice and light. Perfect to get me into my bikini bod…eventually! Love how you gave the little update at the end of the post on the kids!
Thanks so much, Mary Ann! This was a fun one to make! 🙂
This salad is everything right now. Feta is my life! I love everything about this post, from the recipe to the idea of a long-distance book club. I’m so going to do that with my mom and my sisters!
Yay! I love that you’ll start a long distance book club! Anywhere we can fit the books in – all the better! Thanks for stopping by, my dear!
I love salads with feta in them and orzo happens to be the only pasta I eat (small enough) I can eat as a salad:) Very cool recipe! Pinned.
Feta just makes me happy! Happy you can eat orzo – I think you’ll love it! 🙂
Were we not friends yet in 2013? Thinking about it, I don’t think I had a blog yet, so we probably weren’t. And then I’m SUPER shy (errr chey?) so it took me a good 9 months before I started to attempt making “friends” in the blog world. Anyways, I’m thrilled you decided to update this recipe since I missed it originally! This salad looks STELLAR! Love the flavors! And I LOVE the new video! Pinned! Cheers, sweets! XO
We weren’t, can you believe it?! You did better than I did – I think it took me about two years before I made friends (outside of the family) hahhaa! This is a yummy salad – can’t beat those Mediterranean flavors! Thanks, dear! xx
I hadn’t seen this post before, but I’m so happy to see it now (and your video is AWESOME)! What a great quote from Eleanor Roosevelt! This looks super good, Annie! Right up my alley! I could see myself eating this for lunch of dinner. It’s nice and hearty and everything you would want in a salad. So many flavours from the olives to the feta to the lemon…just love it! Can’t wait to try it out so definitely Pinning 🙂
P.S. that article about getting a bikini body in 16 minutes…..any chance you still have that cause I think I kinda need it 😉 Have a wonderful week, sweetness! XOXO
Hahahhaha! I fear I might be up to 20 minutes by this point! 😉 Thrilled you love the salad! The flavors are classic! Have a gorgeous week, my friend! XOXO
Your updated photos look gorgeous! I’m a huge fan of orzo salads, so I’m ready to dive into this for breakfast. Loving those olives and red onions in here! Sounds delicious!
Thank you so much, Gayle! This was actually a lot of fun to do!! 🙂
Love the story and the recipe. I’m going to be doing the same — some great older recipes with my feeble attempts at photography. I’m still working up the nerve for video. Yours is great. Happy Monday! Hugs!!
Hi Dear! It’s a hoot to look back at the original posts and photography – a wonderful walk down memory lane! And especially fun to see how far we’ve come! So happy you like it! Thank you!! xo
Annie, what a gifted writer you are! I know where you inspiration comes from, but I must say your eloquent and humourous words jump off the page and definitely this story “tugged” at my heart too!! And the recipe…can’t wait to make this one too! I love that I have your blog to read every day, and I’m enjoying the opportunity to read your previous posts.
Love, Ann 🙂
Wow! So glad you’re enjoying “our” stories and the recipes! Thank you so, so much, Ann – XO
Wow!
I’m now hungry for that dish and crying! Beautiful couple and family!
Rumor has it we’ll have more than a few opportunities to enjoy this salad together this summer! Thank you for your sweet words!
Oh, this one tugged at me. Wow. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tearing up into my coffee at a little table in Starbucks right now. I can’t wait to give this recipe a go, sweeta! I love you too much♥
Love you too much, Sweeta! I can’t wait to visit your Starbucks! XO
Wow!!! I read this as we take Nick (our youngest) to his college orientation 🙁 Thank God for the strong women in our lives (yes, this includes you Lucy and Chels)! Thank you Annie, YOU are what gets me through this incredibly difficult change in our life. I love you more than you will ever know!
And YOU are getting me through! So many great things to reflect on and so many to look forward to! I love you!