Citrus Orzo Salad Re-Mixed

I love the last orzo salad recipe I posted. It was tasty. And sweet. And salty. And right up my alley. But there are a lot of folks out there that are not wild about capers, olives and raisins. So I did some experimenting this weekend and came up with a more conventional version. Well, I shouldn't put it that way, because there is nothing conventional about candied walnuts in an orzo salad. Plus I amped up the amount of sweet navel oranges, added more crunch with the addition of celery, and swapped out the creamy goat cheese for some extra tangy Gorgonzola. Serve this on a big platter or make up individual Bibb lettuce cups. It is a crowd pleaser!

Citrus Orzo Salad with Candied Walnuts

1 T unsalted butter
1 T olive oil
1 large onion diced
Kosher salt
Pepper
1 cup uncooked orzo
Additional salt and pepper
1-3/4 cups water

4 scallions chopped
4 navel oranges supremed
2 stalks celery chopped
4 oz crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
1/4 cup cilantro chopped
1 cup walnuts
3 T sugar
1 T unsalted butter

Salad Dressing:
1 clove garlic finely chopped
Juice of 2 lemons
1 T rice vinegar
Liquid from supremed oranges
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard

To make the orzo: (This is my mom's method, and it is no fail). In medium size saucepan on medium low heat, melt your butter and olive oil. Add the chopped onions and some salt and pepper. Cook uncovered on stovetop to soften the onions, not brown them. After about 5 minutes they will be translucent and ready to accept the orzo. Add the cup of orzo and coat with the buttery onions. Add a bit more salt and pepper (the orzo has absolutely no flavor if you do not season it). Stir to combine onions and orzo and let the orzo toast a bit (2-3 minutes). Add water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to the lowest simmer and cook 12-13 minutes. The orzo will still be a bit watery, but keep covered off the heat and all the liquid will evaporate.

While orzo is cooling, let's candy the walnuts. In large saucepan on medium heat add the sugar and butter. Mix to combine. Now add the nuts and coat them with the sugary liquid. Toast the mixture for about 3 minutes (that's all the time it takes). Just make sure to keep an eye on the walnuts so they don't burn.

As soon as the nuts are sweet and toasty, transfer them to a piece of parchment paper and separate them the best you can. You do not want clumps of nuts on top of your salad. Set them aside to cool.

To make the dressing: Combine all ingredients in a medium size jar and shake. Or just whisk everything together until it emulsifies.

Assembly: In large bowl combine scallions, orange supremes, celery, and cilantro.

Now add your Gorgonzola and cooled orzo.

If I'm making this dish ahead, I dress the salad with only half the dressing, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Then I  dress it again right before serving time. By the way, I like this salad served at room temp, but it is still delish served cold. And don't forget, liberally sprinkle those sweet, toasty walnuts on top of your salad right before serving.

Sweet and Salty Lettuce Cups

Even though it doesn't feel like summer yet here in New England, next weekend is the unofficial start of the season. Whether you're dusting off your grill, getting together with friends, or just enjoying the day off from work, here's a nice little appetizer to help you enjoy the day. It's a new recipe for me that I made tonight for the first time, and just the dish to get you ready for the hot days ahead. And it's perfect if you're feeding vegetarians.

Orange and Goat Cheese Orzo Lettuce Cups
Inspired by excess oranges and orzo in my pantry

1 cup uncooked orzo
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
1/2 cup onion diced
Kosher salt and pepper
1-3/4 cups water
2 navel oranges supremed
Juice from the 2 oranges
1-2 T capers
3 scallions chopped
1/4 cup raisins (optional)
5 oz goat cheese
Boston lettuce leaves, washed and dried

Dressing
1 large garlic clove finely minced
Kosher salt
Pepper
2 lemons juiced
Extra Virgin olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard

Lets cook the orzo first. In medium saucepan on medium/low heat add butter and oil. Add onions, sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper and soften (3-4 minutes) stirring occasionally. You don't want the onions to brown, just soften. Now add the orzo and stir into the onion mixture. You want to toast the pasta- but again, you don't want it to brown. This takes a minute or so. Add a bit more salt at this point, just to add some flavor to the orzo and stir. Add water, increase heat to a low boil, cover, reduce heat to low and cook about 12-13 minutes. Give the orzo a stir and let rest and cool.

While orzo is cooling you can make the dressing. This is a simple lemon/mustard vinaigrette that I use for everything. Finely chop garlic and mix with kosher salt (start with 1/2 tsp). There's a technique that many chef's use to combine the salt and garlic to make make a paste. That's what I do here. I'll try to explain- take the flat side of your chef's knife and press the garlic and salt together on your cutting board in a small sweeping motion. Now chop the mixture with your knife and press (sweep) it again and again until you have somewhat of a paste, chopping every once in a while until you're satisfied with a medium- smooth paste. I don't have enough patience to get it completely smooth. Now add some pepper and place in medium size mixing bowl. Add lemon juice, mustard, olive oil (wish I had an exact amount- I don't, because it's a different amount every time, but I want to say about 1/3 cup). I also like my dressing acidic. My recommendation- taste and adjust the amount of olive oil. Whisk it well and set aside while you assemble the salad.

To cooked, cooled orzo add supremed oranges and their juice, capers, scallions and the creamy goat cheese crumbled. At the last minute I decided to add raisins and I'm glad I did. I'm a raisin lover but I realize not everybody is, so this is obviously an optional ingredient. Add your dressing and toss gently.

 
Fill lettuce leaves with about 2 tablespoons of this creamy mixture, garnish with parsley, serve and enjoy!

If you're making this salad ahead of time, refrigerate until serving time and squeeze half a lemon over the orzo mixture before plating, just to refresh the salad. I think you'll really like this sweet and salty appetizer. 
 

There are a lot of Saucy Mamas out there, and I'm one of them!

I've been blogging now for almost five years. I love the writing and the cooking, love the friends I've made and love the newest opportunity that came my way a few weeks ago. I've been chosen as one of 25 bloggers to compete in the Saucy Mama blogger challenge.  And it's a big one. The winner of the challenge will win $1,000, a Golden Ticket to the World Food Championships and a $1,000 travel stipend. Barhyte foods sent me 6 of their Saucy Mama sauces and asked me get saucy with an original recipe. The package included: 12 oz each of Saucy Mama Orange Habanero Wing Sauce, Jamaican Jerk Wing Sauce, Honey Barbecue Wing Sauce, Hot Wing Sauce, Honey Dijon Dressing and Four Leaf Balsamic.

So the tasting began. Each and every sauce has a quality of it's own. My two favs were the Orange Habanero and Four Leaf Balsamic, but I could have been happy creating with any one of the six. Those who know me have probably guessed by now that I fell in love with the Orange Habanero Wing Sauce. The flavors are complex (as are the other sauces), but this baby won my heart. I love me some heat and citrus and I was on the road to happiness.

My mom used to make the creamiest orzo (pasta) and I decided to add a little zest/oomph to her recipe and update it by adding orange supremes, a little orange zest and a tad of the Habanero Orange Sauce. And what goes better with orzo than shrimp? Well probably nothing... and so my cooking adventure began. I did a few test runs to get the recipe just the way I wanted it, and here's what I came up with.

Zesty Orzo Smothered with Orange Habanero Shrimp
Serves 4

Orzo
2 cups uncooked orzo (I used Barilla)
3 T unsalted butter
1 T canola oil
1/2 cup onion diced
Salt and pepper
3-1/2 cups chicken broth with extra juice from the oranges
1-1/2 T Saucy Mama Orange Habanero Wing Sauce
Zest of 2 navel oranges
2 navel oranges supremed (save the juice to add to broth)

Shrimp
1 pound Gulf shrimp peeled and deveined (I like the 16-21 per pound)
1 medium onion chopped
5 cloves garlic finely chopped
3 T unsalted butter
1 T canola oil
1 tsp Azafran seasoning
1/3 cup Saucy Mama Orange Habanero Wing Sauce
1 bottle Shock Top orange beer
Juice of half lemon and juice of half orange

I'm ready to put this dish together with some pictures. It's really a quick fix and simple, simple, simple.

To make the orzo: Add butter and oil to medium size skillet on medium low heat. Add the chopped onions and cook until softened (3-4 minutes). Don't brown them, just soften. Now add your orzo and toast the pasta in the butter mixture kind of like you're making risotto. Add the Saucy Mama Orange Habanero Sauce and combine. Add a small amount of salt and pepper and take a moment to admire the toasty goodness of the orzo.

Now it's time to add the broth, zest and orange supremes.

Cover pot and cook on a low simmer for 15 minutes. Voila! Creamy orzo is ready.

Set the orzo aside and let's get ready to cook the shrimp. Besides the Saucy Mama Orange Habanero Sauce, there's another secret ingredient to this dish. It's orange beer, and apparently easy to find. One stop at a liquor store and I found what I was looking for.

 In large pot add butter, oil, garlic and onions. Cook on medium to low until onions and garlic are translucent, but not brown, about 3-4 minutes. Add beer, Saucy Mama Orange Habanero Sauce, Azafran, lemon and orange juice. Increase heat a bit and add shrimp.

Cover and cook on a low boil 5-6 minutes until shrimp become pink. Remove shrimp from cooking liquid and set aside to cool a bit.

Once shrimp are removed, increase stove heat slightly and reduce the beer, habanero orange sauce mixture to intensify the flavors. Do this with the cover off. This takes about 10-15 minutes. While you're reducing the liquid, I give you permission to taste the shrimp, just one or two though. Aren't they delish? And that's without the decadent sauce. A few more minutes and you're ready to eat.

While my sauce was concentrating, I put together an avocado, orange, scallion, and Fresno chili salsa to go with this flavorful meal. It's certainly not a necessity, but I always like some veggies with my meal.

And now for the reader giveaway. Saucy Mama would like you to try their sauces and has offered a give-away to my readers. Simply leave a comment here on the blog or on my facebook page by the Saucy Mama post and you could be chosen to receive 3 Saucy Mama wing sauces. That's a saucy way to begin the summer season, don't you think?