Curried orzo salad with cashews, apricots, and raisins
This curried orzo salad tastes as good as it looks- and it looks damn delicious. The bright yellow orzo imparts little bursts of curry. Studded with cashews and raisins, and dressed with a bright citrus vinaigrette, this is the perfect combination of savory and sweet. Adding curry powder and turmeric to the water while the pasta is cooking yields a bright yellow orzo, and the signature curry flavor which permeates the dish.
You can swap in Israeli couscous or another small pasta if you’d like. The veggies you toss in are also negotiable. The the list below is my preference, but by all means, experiment away!
Curried orzo salad with cashews and vegetables
Curry flavored orzo studded with cashews, golden raisins, crispy vegetables in a bright citrus vinaigrette.
Ingredients
Curried pasta ingredients:
- 1 lb Dried orzo
- 2 tbs Curry powder
- 2 tbs Ground tumeric
- 1 tbs Salt
Vinaigrette ingredients:
- 1 cup Olive oil
- 1/4 cup Orange Juice
- 1/4 cup Red wine vinegar
- 2 tbs Honey
- 1 tbs Salt
Salad Ingredients:
- 1 English Cucumber cut into 1 cm cubes
- One red pepper, one yellow pepper and one orange pepper cut into roughly 1 cm cubes
- 1 cup Roasted salted cashews
- 1 cup Golden Raisins
- 1 Medium to large Red onion chopped into roughly 1 cm cubes (approximately one and a half cups)
- 4 to 5 Green onions sliced (roughly 1/2 cup)
- 1 cup Dried apricots sliced
- 1 large Tart apple (like a Granny Smith or Gravenstein) sliced into matchsticks (see below)
- 1 bunch Cilantro chopped, about 1 cup
Instructions
- Bring the water to a boil. Add curry powder, turmeric, and salt. Add orzo and cook according to the package instructions. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water. Set aside in the refrigerator to cool.
- Make the vinaigrette. Whisk all of the ingredients together in a medium size bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- To slice apples, first cut into 4 wedges. Next cut out the core of each wedge. Then, with one cut edge flat to the cutting board, slice the apple into 1/4 slices. Lastly, cut 1/4 inch thick slices at a 90 degree angle to the previous slices.
- Slice the dried apricots in 1/4 inch slices.
- Cut the peppers into about 1/2 squares.
- Chop the red onion in squares that approximate the size of the pepper pieces.
- Slice the green onions into 1/4 inch thick slices.
- Add the cashews, raisins, apricots and chopped vegetables to the cold orzo. Add the dressing and stir to combine. Just before serving stir in the chopped cilantro.
