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

This Whole Wheat Orzo Salad with Kale, Chickpeas, Lemon, and Feta is a delicious low-glycemic salad idea. You could use brown rice or quinoa for a gluten-free version of this tasty salad. Use Salad Recipes to find more recipes like this one.

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A few years ago I discovered 100% Whole Wheat Orzo Pasta, and I’ve used it to make a few tasty pasta salads since then, including this delicious Whole Wheat Orzo Salad with Kale, Chickpeas, Lemon, and Feta. If you’re not familiar with it, orzo is a type of pasta that’s shaped like large grains of rice, and if you don’t want to bother finding the whole wheat orzo or for a gluten-free version of this salad, cooked brown rice would make a fine substitute.

Of course it won’t surprise anyone that I took a fantastic-sounding salad with spinach and switched out the spinach for kale.  I used regular curly kale so we trimmed it and wilted the kale for a minute, but if you had Earthbound Farm Ready-to-use Organic Mixed Baby Kales you could just give the kale a few rough chops and throw it in the salad.  We also added some cumin into the dressing for this salad, which gave it a bit of a Mediterranean flavor.  No matter what version of this salad you end up with, we thought this delightful combination of flavors was a perfect meatless meal.

This is my weekly post in honor of Meatless Mondays, and as usual I’m posting it on Sunday in case anyone wants to try the recipe tomorrow. This is also the second recipe I’ve tried from Spilling the Beans: Cooking and Baking with Beans and Grains Everyday, written by my blogging friend Julie (from Dinner with Julie).  I am loving this book, which is a great resource for anyone who likes to cook with dried beans.(You can find more meatless recipes by using the label Meatless Monday or checking Vegetarian Recipes in the recipe index.)

Cook the orzo in boiling salted water and then drain well and let it cool. (Be sure to follow package directions for cooking time and don’t overcook!) Drain a can of garbanzo beans, rinse well with cold water, and let them drain. We used a whole bunch of curly kale which was four cups of packed kale after it was trimmed. You could definitely get by with a little less. For regular kale, heat a tiny bit of oil in a hot pan, add the kale, and wilt it for a minute or two.  (If you’re using Earthbound Farm Ready-to-use Organic Mixed Baby Kales, just chop it up and use it raw.)

Finely chop half of a red onion. I used 3/4 cup crumbled Feta cheese. Mix together the lemon zest and juice, white balsamic vinegar, ground cumin, salt, and pepper and then whisk in the olive oil to make the dressing.  (This might be more dressing than you need, but it’s delicious on cooked vegetables or green salad.) I meant to take a picture of the orzo, kale, garbanzos, and red onion mixed together with the dressing before I gently mixed in the Feta, but you will have to use your imagination for that step!  (Be careful to mix this gently so you don’t end up with mush!)  Serve right away.

More Tasty Salad Ideas with Orzo:

Whole Wheat Orzo and Grilled Vegetable Salad with Feta, Olives, and Herbs from Kalyn’s Kitchen
Spinach and Orzo Salad from Simply Recipes
Whole Wheat Orzo Salad with Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Feta, and Herbs from Kalyn’s Kitchen

Weekend Food Prep:

This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep  to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

Print Recipe

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

Yield: 4 generous servings

Total Time: 24-26 minutes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 9-11 minutes

A delicious, meatless salad made with whole wheat orzo, kale, chickpeas, lemon, and Feta.

Ingredients:

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat orzo, cooked according to package directions and drained well
• 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

Directions:

1. Bring a medium-sized pot of water to a boil, add several generous pinches of salt and cook the orzo according to package directions, being careful not to overcook.
2. Drain into a fine-mesh colander and let the orzo cool while you prep the other directions.
3. If using a bunch of curly kale, cut the kale away from the stalks and coarsely chop.  (If needed, wash kale with a salad spinner and spin dry.)
4. Heat the tsp. of olive oil in a large heavy frying pan over medium high heat, add the kale all at once and turn over until it wilts, not more than 1-2 minutes.
5. Immediately put the kale in a bowl large enough to hold all the salad ingredients.  (If you’re using Earthbound Farm Ready-to-use Organic Mixed Baby Kales, it can just be coarsely chopped and used in the salad without wilting.)
6. Drain the garbanzo beans into a colander placed in the 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.)
7. Finely chop half a red onion, and crumble enough Feta to make 3/4 cup.
8. Mix together the lemon juice, lemon zest, white balsamic vinegar, cumin, salt, and pepper, and then whisk in the olive oil to make the dressing.
9. When the orzo has cooled, add it to the bowl with the wilted kale.
10. Add the garbanzo beans and finely  finely diced red onion and gently mix to combine.
11. Add dressing a few tablespoons at a time and gently stir until all the ingredients are well-coated with dressing.  (You probably won’t need all the dressing.)
12. Gently stir in the crumbled Feta and serve.
13. This did not keep especially well overnight in the refrigerator.
14. Store the cooked orzo, drained garbanzos, chopped onion, crumbled feta, and extra dressing separately.
15. When you want to make the second salad, wilt the rest of the kale and mix ingredients together.

Notes:

This recipe adapted from Spilling the Beans: Cooking and Baking with Beans and Grains Everyday.

All images and text ©Kalyn Denny for Kalyn's Kitchen.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
100% Whole Wheat Orzo Pasta is a great product for phase 2 or 3 of the South Beach Diet.  I made this Whole Wheat Orzo Salad with Kale, Chickpeas, Lemon, and Feta more diet friendly by using more kale in proportion to the amount of pasta and reducing the amount of cheese, but it’s definitely too high in carbs for traditional low-carb eating plans.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You can also Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

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