(This is an old recipe that has been removed from the site, but I am leaving the printer-friendly recipe here in case some readers were fans of the recipe!)

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 (see notes)
  • 1 tsp. olive oil, for pan used to wilt the kale
  • one 15.5 oz. can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained well
  • 1/2 small red onion, finely diced
  • 3/4 cup crumbled Feta cheese

Dressing Ingredients:

  • 1 T lemon zest (see notes)
  • 3 T lemon juice
  • 2 T white balsamic vinegar (see notes)
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

  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. Store the cooked orzo, drained garbanzos, chopped onion, crumbled feta, and extra dressing separately if you want to make more than you’ll eat at one time. When you want to make the second salad, wilt the rest of the kale and mix ingredients together.

Notes

I used about about 5 oz. kale leaves. If you don’t have white balsamic vinegar (affiliate link) just substitute any type of mild white vinegar. One large lemon should be enough for 1 tablespoon of lemon zest and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice.

This recipe adapted from Spilling the Beans: Cooking and Baking with Beans and Grains Everyday. (affiliate link)

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