Amy's Favorite Recipes: Mediterranean Shrimp and Orzo Salad

Mediterranean Shrimp and Orzo Salad

This is a fantastic chilled pasta salad! I've added grilled shrimp, sun-dried tomatoes, Kalamato olives, zucchini, spinach, roasted sweet red peppers and feta cheese but you can adjust this recipe to your favorite ingredients. This salad tastes best if allowed to sit a few hours before eating so all the great flavors can develop. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

For the dressing:

  1 ½ tbl. yellow onion, chopped
  2 tsp. garlic
  2 tbl. capers
  1 tbl. Dijon mustard
  2 sun-dried tomatoes (in oil)
  1 tbl. white Balsamic vinegar
  3 tbl. fresh lemon juice
  4 tbl. olive oil
  2 tbl. fresh basil

For the salad:

  1 lb. 31/40 count shrimp, peeled and deveined
  1 box orzo, cooked according to package directions
  2 zucchini, diced
  ¾ cup sun-dried tomatoes (in oil), chopped
  ½ cup roasted sweet red pepper (Vlasic brand), chopped
  ½ cup Kalamato (Greek) olives, pitted and chopped
  2 tbl. capers
  1 ½ cup fresh spinach, chopped
  ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
  ½ cup green onions, thinly sliced
  1 cup crumbled feta cheese
  1 tsp. garlic-pepper seasoning
  1 tsp. greek seasoning
  salt (to taste)

Instructions:

Season shrimp with 2 tbl. olive oil, 2 tsp. Greek seasoning and 1 tsp. garlic-pepper seasoning. Place on hot grill and cook until done. Grilling these shrimp on a hot grill only takes a few minutes.

Combine all the ingredients for the dressing, except olive oil, in a food processor. Pulse to finely chop ingredients. Gradually add olive oil to processor to create dressing.

Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat. Refrigerate salad for at least 2 hours before serving.

NOTE: "1 lb. 31/40 count shrimp" refers to the size of the shrimp that is used in this recipe. 31/40 count shrimp means that there will be 31-40 shrimp per pound. Of course you could use a larger shrimp, such as 6/8 count, but 31/40 count shrimp provides a good, bite-sized shrimp.

Serves: 8

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