I’ve been craving a summer staple from back home: pasta salad. Not the elbow macaroni/mayonaise/sad carrot sliver kind, but the slippery tri color corkscrew noodles dressed in cold balsamic dressing, studded with hard squares of salty cheese and chunks of vegetables. It tastes like hot weather. I’m not sure it exists outside of obscenely humid Baltimore BBQs, the kind where you mill around the grill for five minutes, then all troop inside to cool off your sweating drink and self in the air conditioned basement. 

This is a nod to that salad, mostly inspired by a container of feta and a bouquet of parsley that will not go away, no matter how much of them I add to everything (we’re about a day away from chocolate chip/feta/parsley cookies). It’s a perfect accompaniment to another cherished, indoor summertime activity: lying around in pajamas and watching the Olympics.

Greek Orzo Salad (inspired by this recipe)

Dressing:

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• The juice of half a lemon
• 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste 

Whisk ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside. 

Salad:

• 1/2 a large cucumber
• 1 tomato
• 1 cup orzo (I used tricolor, whole grain orzo)
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Cook orzo. While orzo cooks, roughly chop the cucumber and tomato into bite size square pieces. Drain orzo and let it rest until it’s room temperature. Combine orzo, cucumber, and tomato in a bowl. Add dressing and toss ingredients in the dressing. Top with feta and parsley. Finish with dried oregano, salt, and pepper to taste.