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Whole Wheat Orzo Salad with Kale, Chickpeas, Lemon, Feta

Ingredients

Salad Ingredients:
  • 1 cup whole wheat orzo
  • salt for pasta cooking water
  • 4 cups fresh kale, chopped (about 4-5 oz. kale leaves)
  • 1 tsp olive oil, for pan used to wilt the kale
  • 1 can (15.5 oz.) garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained well
  • 1/2 small red onion, finely diced
  • 3/4 cup crumbled Feta cheese
Dressing Ingredients:
  • zest and juice of one large lemon (about 1 T zest and 3 T juice)
  • 2 T white balsamic vinegar (or substitute any type of mild white vinegar)
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Recipe

Cook orzo according to package directions or as follows: Bring medium-sized pot of water to boil, add several generous pinches of salt, add orzo and check for doneness frequently, being careful not to overcook.  Drain into fine-mesh colander, rinse with cool water and toss with a small amout of olive oil.

If using curly kale, cut kale away from the stalks and coarsely chop.  (If needed, wash kale with a salad spinner and spin dry.)  Heat teaspon of olive oil in large heavy frying pan over medium high heat, add kale all at once and turn over until it wilts, not more than 1-2 minutes.  Immediately put kale in bowl large enough to hold all salad ingredients.  

Drain garbanzo beans into colander placed in sink, rinse well with cold water until no more foam appears, and let beans drain  until they are quite dry.  (Blot with paper towels if needed.) 

Finely chop half red onion, and crumble enough Feta to make 3/4 cup. Mix together lemon juice, lemon zest, white balsamic vinegar, cumin, salt, and pepper, then whisk in olive oil to make dressing.

Add orzo to bowl with wilted kale. Add garbanzo beans, finely diced red onion and gently mix to combine.  Add dressing a few tablespoons at a time and gently stir until ingredients are well-coated with dressing.  (You probably won't need all the dressing.)  Gently stir in crumbled Feta and serve.   Makes 4 generous servings.

Kalyn's Kitchen via Nosh On It

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