Summer Roasted Veggie Orzo Salad with Sprouted Kitchen

For those hot Summer days, when you need a refreshing salad to cool you down. This salad is super easy and will have the whole family coming back for more.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 small eggplant
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 orange bell pepper
• 2 medium zucchini
• 1 red onion
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 lb. orzo
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for roasting
• zest and juice of one lemon (about 1/4 cup) plus a splash of white vinegar if you like it zippy
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne
• 6 ounces feta cheese, largely crumbled

• 1/3 cup chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped basil
• 1/3 cup chopped chives
• 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 425'. Trim and dice the eggplant, bell peppers, zucchini and red onion into 1" cubes. Collect the vegetables on two, large rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle the vegetables with oil, oregano, a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper and toss everything to coat well. Spread them in a single layer and roast for 25-30 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through, until the edges are browned. Remove to cool.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt it generously. Cook the orzo according to instructions. Drain. Rinse. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and let it cool. Drizzle on the oil, lemon zest and juice, salt, pepper and cayenne. Stir. Add in the cooled vegetables and herbs. Stir again. Crumble in the feta cheese, season to taste (I like it sippy, so I added about 1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar).

At this point you can serve it at room temperature, or keep it chilled in the fridge for up to a week.

Wheat-free readers, don't write this off. There are so many gluten free pastas now, and it doesn't necessarily have to be orzo here. Most are made from corn, and I know a number of you are sensitive to that too. You can swap in 1.5 cups cooked quinoa or cauliflower rice that you've just super briefly sauteed. In either case, you want to keep a bit of crunch and texture, be careful not to overcook either.

If you cannot or are not eating dairy, sub in some pitted olive for the feta to compensate for that rich, salty bite.

Serves 6