Italian Orzo Salad (Risoni) with Crispy Salami Bits
Recipe video above. The crispy salami bits are the hero here. The better bacon. Why aren't we putting crispy salami in everything??!Tossed through a risoni/orzo salad inspired by my favourite Mega Italian Salad with lots of fresh vegetables and a good handful of cheese to keep things tasty. Excellent packed lunch, keeps well for days, love that you can eat it with a spoon. Serves 4 - 5 as a meal. Make this today, find another pasta salad for next week here!
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Cooling time30 minutesmins
Course: cold pasta salad, Main
Cuisine: Western
Keyword: chicken pasta salad, orzo salad, risoni salad
Cook pasta - Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add salt and risoni/orzo, then cook per packet directions (usually ~10 minutes). Drain in colander, rinse, shake off excess water well. Transfer to large bowl. Toss with the olive oil then let cool.
Dressing - Shake in a jar.
Crispy salami - Put salami in cold large non-stick pan, with no oil. Turn onto medium high - as the pan heats up, the fat will melt so it cooks in its own fat. Cook for 3 - 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until light golden. Drain on paper towels. It will crisp as it cools.
Toss - Set aside 1/3 of the salami for topping. Put all remaining salad ingredients in with the risoni. Toss. Pour over dressing. Toss, toss, toss!
Serve! Tumble into serving bowl. Sprinkle with remaining salami. Divide between bowls. Eat with spoon! Best eaten at room temp, not fridge cold (can taste flavours better).
Notes
1. Orzo/risoni - Little rice shaped pasta! Substitute with cooked rice of choice (use 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice) - white, brown, basmati, jasmine - or quinoa (directions here). Other little pasta will work too.2. Salami - I use the deli pre-sliced rounds because I'm lazy and it means less chopping for me because the job is half done. Else, slice your own salami stick!Substitutes - Anything fryable that goes crispy, like bacon, ham bits, prosciutto. Prefer no meat? Add a handful of roughly chopped pistachios, pine nuts, or sunflower or pepitas.3. Vegetable notes: - Tomato: sub with 3 large tomatoes, scoop out watery middle then dice the flesh - Rocket/arugula: holds up best it keeping leftovers, I find. But other leafy greens will work fine, chop into small(ish) pieces. - Capsicum/bell peppers: cucumber could be substituted. Oh, and you don't HAVE to use green :) Yellow or red will be fine too! - Red onion: Sub 1 large green onion stem finely chopped. Or 1 eschallot (US: shallot ie the baby onions), or 1/2 white onion.4. Olives - Sub with other briny things. I'm thinking: pickles, artichokes, fire roasted capsicum, other pickled veg. Just want something with tang to balance out everything else going on in this salad!5. Cheese - Sub with cheddar, monteray jack, pepper jack, gruyere, swiss etc. Not mozzarella (not enough flavour) and not parmesan (too much flavour!). Try to grate short rather than long strands - you get more pieces to litter throughout!6. Leftovers keeps well for 2 to 3 days. If intentionally making ahead, keep all components separate then toss and dress just before serving. In particular, the salami softens once tossed through so preserve crispiness by keeping it separate!!Nutrition per serving assuming 5 servings.