Mediterranean Chicken and Orzo Salad With Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Pine Nuts

Longest recipe title ever, isn’t it? The title doesn’t exactly leave much to the imagination, but I didn’t make it up.  Jamie and Bobby did.  This is a recipe from the Deen boys’ cookbook, The Deen Bros. Take it Easy.  I loved this simple meal!  It was my first time using orzo, which provided a nice contrast to the the crunchy pine nuts.   I absolutely loved all of the flavors of this dish, along with the simple dressing.  This makes a great dish for lunch or a light dinner, and would be perfect to bring to a potluck or BBQ.

Mediterranean Chicken and Orzo Salad With Sun-dried Tomatoes and Pine Nuts

from The Houston Chronicle, September 16, 2009

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces (1 1/2 cups) orzo
• 1 cup diced cooked chicken (I used leftovers from Perfect Roast Chicken)
• 1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (fresh from our garden)
• 1/2 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups (about 3 ounces) crisp greens, such as romaine or Boston lettuce, for serving (I substituted spinach)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Cook orzo according to package directions.  Drain well.  In a large bowl, combine orzo with chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, olives and pine nuts.  To make the dressing: in a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper.  Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.