Corn and Zucchini Orzo Salad

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Author: Delphine Fortin
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x
Category: Salads
Diet: Vegetarian

This corn and zucchini orzo salad with goat cheese is not your average salad recipe. Prepared with orzo, it features sautéed zucchini, corn and goat cheese together with mint for a very refreshing touch. Simple and delicious!

Ingredients

Scale

For the orzo salad:

1 ½ cup (450g) dry orzo pasta
2 medium green and/or yellow zucchini
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 medium ears of corn*
3.5 ounces (100g) goat cheese or feta, crumbled
¼ cup (35g) toasted pine nuts
¼ cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

For the vinaigrette:

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
½ Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground pepper

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Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the orzo pasta and cook until al dente, 7-8 mins. Drain the orzo under cold water to stop the cooking. Transfer to a large serving bowl, toss with a little olive oil to prevent from sticking, and allow to cool.
Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Place sliced zucchini into a large bowl. Drizzle with 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Toss to coat, then spread the zucchini slices over a baking sheet together with the corn*. Grill the zucchini for about 8-10 minutes and the corn for 15 minutes, flipping it once half-through the baking time. Transfer the corn to a cutting board and let cool, then cut the kernels off the corncobs.
Meanwhile, prepare the vinaigrette by whisking all the vinaigrette ingredients together.
Add zucchini, corn, toasted pine nuts and mint to the orzo salad. Toss with half of the vinaigrette, then add the fresh goat cheese or feta, crumbled. Gently toss again (you don’t want goat cheese to become mushy), adding more vinaigrette as needed. Enjoy!

Notes

* OR use 1 can corn (140g/5 ounces), drained. If using corn from a can, there is no need to grill it in the oven, and you can use the kernels directly in the salad.