Crispy Orzo, Tomato and Peach Salad

A fun spin on a crispy rice salad with crispy orzo, roasted tomatoes and juicy peaches - the perfect summer dinner

25 minutes prep

55 minutes cook

Serves 4

Mia Jacobs

Ingredients

Roasted tomatoes:

275gcherry tomatoes

1bulb of garlic, top sliced off

1/2 tsplight brown or caster sugar

1/2 tsppul biber (red pepper flakes)

1 tspred wine or apple cider vinegar

to tastesalt and freshly cracked black pepper

Crispy orzo:

200gorzo

1-2 tbspolive oil

to tastesalt

The dressing:

1roasted garlic, smooshed

2.5 tspdijon mustard

1 tspred wine or apple cider vinegar

75-100mlextra virgin olive oil

1lemon, zested

2 tsplemon juice

from traytomato roasting juices

1/2 tsppul biber

to tastesalt and freshly cracked black pepper

To serve:

1flat peach, sliced

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced (place in ice cold water for 10 mins to reduce harshness)

17gbasil, roughly chopped

10gmint, roughly chopped

1 tbspfresh oregano, chopped

3-4 spoonfulsvegan stracciatella

Everyone loves a crispy rice salad. Crispy carbs in a salad, what's not to love? This version uses orzo and perfectly balances sweet peaches with sticky roasted tomatoes, herbs and the crisp toasted orzo.

Method

Preheat oven to 200 degrees, 180 fan.

Cook the orzo in generously salted water, according to packet instructions. Once cooked, drain and rinse with cold water. Drain thoroughly.

Tip the cooked orzo onto a baking tray and drizzle with plenty of olive oil. Season with a pinch of salt then roast for around 35-40 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Half way through, removed and stir to make sure they brown evenly.

Dress the tomatoes and bulb of garlic on a baking tray. Place the garlic cut side down then place the tray in the oven and roast until the tomatoes are wrinkled and jammy, around 20-25 minutes.

Allow the garlic to cool before squeezing over a big mixing bowl to remove the tender roasted cloves. Crush into a paste with the back of a fork then add the mustard, vinegar, pul biber, lemon juice and zest, tomato cooking juices and salt and pepper. Gradually stir in the olive oil until a nice emulsified dressing forms.

Remove the crispy orzo from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

Add the peach slices, tomatoes, red onion (drained if soaking), herbs and cooled orzo into the mixing bowl with the dressing and toss everything together until fully coated.

Top with spoonfuls of stracciatella or some kind of soft vegan cheese, more extra virgin olive oil, extra flecks of lemon zest, some pul biber. Enjoy!

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Mia Jacobs

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Mia is a self-taught cook with an obsession with street food and an absolute hatred for parsnips. Before joining Twisted Green, Mia founded an online vegan cooking school in the midst of the global pandemic and began teaching people all over the world how to cook incredible vegan food from the comfort of their own homes. Her mission was, and still is, to help transform kitchens everywhere from a daunting space to one that’s filled with the irresistible aroma of frying garlic, and some very special plant-based grub. She also believes that crisps and hummus are a gift to humanity.