Orzo Salad with Almond Feta

My regular supermarket gives cooking demonstrations all day, every day. After a while, I started to tune them out. However, when recently one of the chefs started listing what was in the dish she was cooking, it sounded good: "orzo, artichokes, feta, chicken..." I started mulling over how I could make a similar vegan dish.

I remembered seeing an almond feta recipe rated highly on other blogs so I gave it a try. It made the dish. My cheese-loving family didn't know it was made from nuts until I told them and I couldn't wait to dive into the leftovers for lunch the next day.

I didn't want to use veggie chicken, as it sounded too rich with the almond feta, so I added some of the vegetables you'd find in a Greek salad. I ended up not using artichokes either. When I pulled back the ring tab on the can, it went "boom!" It was loud! I'm not sure if the 'chokes were contaminated or not, but I've never given anyone food poisoning, my mom never gave anyone food poisoning, my grandmother never did - down the garbage disposal went the artichokes. I did offer my son some free botox, but he didn't take me up on it, the ingrate. I found some hearts of palm in the freezer and I was good to go.

This is my entry for this week's Presto Pasta Nights. Keep sending me your entries until Thursday night! Email me at cdmcculloch7 [at] gmail [dot] com.

Orzo Salad with Almond Feta

Note: The almond feta needs to be started at least two days in advance. You can freeze the pureed almond, lemon juice and olive oil mixture, and then thaw and proceed with the cheesecloth step later.

1 recipe Almond Feta Cheese with Herb Oil (you'll just use half the recipe in this)
1 cup whole wheat orzo (5 ounces)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 cup sliced hearts of palm or quartered artichoke hearts
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
12 olives, pitted and sliced
2 tablespoons fresh herbs or 1 teaspoon dried (I used fresh basil and dried oregano)
Whole pepperoncini peppers (optional)

Have prepared almond feta at hand. Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain and toss with oil and vinegar.

Stir in tomatoes, hearts of palm or artichokes, onion, olives and herbs.

Using a small spoon, scoop out thin slices of the almond feta and add to the salad, using half of the recipe. Toss gently. Garnish with pepperoncini if desired.

Serves 4.