Oil Free Farmers Market Italian Orzo Salad! Summer vibes are in full force with this refreshing dish.

This fresh and flavorful Oil Free Farmers Market Italian Orzo Salad is brimming with nourishing garden veggies and aromatic Italian herbs.  It’s a great make-ahead salad, toss it together, refrigerate and run! It’s a filling and satisfying side dish or light meal that the works great at the dinner table or for fun picnic gatherings.

Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.

Hi there, Ameera here!

We all devoured this delicious salad. It’s soooo tasty! Dad was all over it. He classically eats a “late lunch” every day and when he found this beauty in the fridge waiting for him, he ate it all up with gusto.

This salad makes 8 cups, which seems like a lot, but it is so gosh darned tasty, it will be gone in a flash!

You gotta give this one a try!

Tips for Success:

• Flavor Profile:  This salad is an excellent salad for all those garden-fresh vegetables.  The main flavor profile is Italian seasonings.
• Salad Temperature or Cold:  This is an excellent room temperature salad.  It can also be eaten cold.  If to be eaten cold, we suggest removing from the refrigerator and allowing to sit for 15 minutes to wake up the flavors. This allows the dressing flavors to come forward, the roasted veggies to become more flavorful, and this happens best when the salad and dressing are served at room temperature or just slightly chilled as typically done in many European and Middle Eastern countries.  Be sure to refrigerate leftovers.
• Zucchini:  In varying kitchen tests, we used 4 cups of unpeeled zucchini.  This averaged out to be about 4 small zucchinis or 2 medium-sized zucchinis.  If using larger zucchinis be sure to remove the seeds.
• Grape Tomatoes:  We used 30 grape tomatoes which was about 10 oz. of tomatoes.  Feel free to use cherry tomatoes.
• Maple Syrup:  Start on the low-end and build up.  The sweetness tends to mellow out over time.  Roasted tomatoes are naturally very sweet.
• Tender Crisp Veggies:  Broilers tend to varying greatly by ovens and brand.  Watch your veggies closely at the 5-minute mark to ensure the veggies are roasted to your preference. We enjoyed our veggies broiled at the 7-minute mark. They became tender and the grape tomatoes do burst which is fine as we enjoy them this way.  Use a large baking sheet to ensure that the veggies roast and do not steam.  If you do not want burst tomatoes, then perhaps consider broiling them separately until they are just wrinkled.
• Toasted Pine Nuts:  The toasted pine nuts are optional.  We enjoyed this salad both with and without pine nuts.  They are not an essential ingredient.  To toast pine nuts simply place them in a medium hot dry skillet, stirring constantly, and toast until they become golden.  Watch them carefully because they burn easily.  When done, get them out of the skillet so they don’t continue to toast.

Leftovers and Freezing:

Leftovers will generally keep for 4-5 days in the refrigerator.  Store in a covered container.  When ready to eat, remove from the fridge and allow to sit for 15 minutes to wake up the flavor.

This dish cannot be frozen.

Pantry Products Used:

• Miso:  We used Miso Master Organic Mellow White Premium Lite Miso, Certified Gluten Free.  Miso really lends itself to balancing flavors when you don’t use oil.  You can also use chickpea miso for a soy free version.
• Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

Kitchen Products Used:

• 14 x 20 baking sheet

We certainly hope you give this deliciousness a try.

If you try this delicious salad, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us!  We would love to hear from you.

Oil Free Farmers Market Italian Orzo Salad

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• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 23 Minutes
• Cook Time: 5-7 Minutes
• Total Time: 30 Minutes
• Yield: 8 Cups 1x
• Category: Salad
• Cuisine: Italian Inspired
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

This fresh and flavorful Oil Free Farmers Market Italian Orzo Salad is brimming with nourishing garden veggies and aromatic Italian herbs.

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Ingredients

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Roasted Salad Ingredients:

• 4 cups zucchini, unpeeled, ½-inch diced *
• 1 red bell pepper, ½-inch diced
• 30 grape/cherry tomatoes *
• 1 medium red onion, ½ -inch dice
• 1 Tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ to 1 teaspoon sea salt *

 Dressing Ingredients:

• ¼ cup + 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons tahini
• 1 Tablespoon white miso *
• 1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1 to 3 teaspoons pure maple syrup (+/-) *
• 1 Tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ¼ to 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *

 Other Ingredients:

• 16 oz. orzo pasta

 Optional Ingredients:

• ½ to 2/3 cup toasted pine nuts
• Freshly chopped parsley

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Instructions

1. Set oven to high broil.Move the rack closest to the broiler
2. In a bowl, toss the chopped zucchini, chopped red bell peppers, whole grape tomatoes, and chopped red onion with 1 Tablespoon of water. Mix well to slightly dampen the veggies, then add the garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, and black pepper, and mix well. Then dump the veggies onto a large baking sheet, spread out evenly.  Place under the broiler for approx. 5 to 7 minutes or until the veggies have reached a tender-crisp stage.  When done, remove from the oven and allow to cool.  See notes about the tomatoes.
3. In the meantime, cook the orzo pasta according to package directions, drain and rinse with cold water, drain well for several minutes. Set aside until ready to make the salad.
4. In the meantime, place all the Dressing Ingredients into a bowl, mix well until smooth and emulsified.
5. Add the cooked and cooled orzo pasta into the bowl, along with the cooled (or slightly warm) roasted veggies, add the dressing, stir until everything is well coated.
6. Serve as a delicious side salad or lunch.

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Notes

*Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used. 

*Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Servings:  Makes 8 cups

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