Orzo salad
Make it on Sunday and it carries the week: orzo and chickpeas dressed while the orzo is hot, dark-roasted squash, lacinato kale rubbed soft with the dressing, salty feta. Pomegranate goes on each bowl as you eat it.
About 700 kcal and 20 g protein a serving
You'll need
- 8 oz orzo (half a box)
- ½ large kabocha (about 1½ lbs), in ¾-inch cubes
- 1 can chickpeas, drained
- 1 bunch lacinato kale, leaves stripped from the ribs and sliced thin
- 3 oz feta, crumbled
- ⅓ cup olive oil, plus more for the squash
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- ½ lemon
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- Chile flakes and salt
- To serve: pomegranate seeds
Make it
Tap a step when it's done.
- 425°F · 25–30 minHeat the oven. Toss the squash with oil and salt, spread it on a sheet pan in one layer, and roast, flipping once, until the edges are dark and it's tender. Let it cool.
- Whisk the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, a pinch of chile flakes, and ½ tsp salt in a large bowl. Spoon 2 tbsp of it into a small jar and keep it for serving.
- 1 minPut the kale in a second bowl with a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp of the dressing, and squeeze it with your hands for a minute, until it darkens and softens. Set it aside.
- About 10 minBoil the orzo in well-salted water — it should taste like the sea — for 2 minutes longer than the package says. Cold pasta firms up, so it needs the extra time.
- Drain it without rinsing and toss it hot with the chickpeas and the dressing in the bowl. Hot pasta drinks the dressing; cold pasta only gets coated.
- 15 minSpread the dressed orzo on a sheet pan to cool so it doesn't clump.
- Fold in the cooled squash, the kale, and the feta, pack it into a covered container, and refrigerate it within 2 hours. Keep the pomegranate out.
- To eatScoop a bowl, add some pomegranate and a spoonful of the saved dressing, and taste: cold dulls flavor, so it usually wants a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt.
Leftovers
It is the leftovers. Covered in the fridge, it keeps 3 to 4 days. The kale is at its best for the first two, then softens more, like a cooked green.
Make it a meal
For a lunch, halve two soft-boiled eggs over the bowl and crumble on a little more feta. The yolks dress the orzo.
How it works
Three things make a pasta salad last: dress the pasta while it's hot so the flavor goes in, not just on; cook it a little past al dente because the cold firms it; and keep anything delicate out of the container until you eat it. Kale is the one green that belongs in the container: rubbed with salt and dressing, it softens without wilting. Chickpeas soak up the dressing alongside the orzo and give every bite something to bite into. The formula works every month — orzo, the month's vegetable, one cheese, a sharp dressing, something fresh at the end.
Make it your own
- Leftover roasted sweet potato in place of the kabocha.
- Whisk a spoonful of ajvar into the dressing for smoke.
- Torn dates for sweetness against the feta.
Checked against
- Orzo Salad — America's Test Kitchen — orzo dressed with a sharp vinaigrette, feta, made ahead
- How to Make a More Satisfying Pasta Salad — America's Test Kitchen — cook it past al dente for a cold salad; season it harder than a hot dish
- Celebration-Worthy Kale Salads — Cook's Illustrated — a quick massage tenderizes kale so a dressed salad holds; their kale salads keep about 2 days
- How to Make Pasta Salad Without a Recipe — Food52 — dress it warm, cool it spread out, add tender greens last
- Leftovers and Food Safety — USDA — refrigerate within 2 hours; cooked leftovers keep 3 to 4 days
Nutrition estimate, per serving
| Calories | 650–750 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 15–20 g |
| Carbohydrates | 80–100 g |
| Fat | 30 g |
| Fiber | 10–15 g |
A serving: A lunch: a quarter of the salad, with pomegranate on top. As one of six snack bowls, about two-thirds of these numbers.
Not included: Nothing.
With “Make it a meal”: about 850–900 kcal and 30–35 g protein.
Estimated from standard nutrition data for each ingredient in the amounts above, then rounded. Fish, brands, and portions vary, so read these as a guide, not a measurement.