Return to the Table logo banner Dinner with Caterina
February 21, 2025

Orzo, Cucumber & Chive Pasta Salad

IMG 7018 1
Print

Orzo, Cucumber & Chive Pasta Salad

IMG 7018 1

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

Pasta salads are perfect for packed lunches, picnics, parties, or a fresh first course for a family dinner. You can toss in just about anything, and when you use IGP pasta from Italy, extra virgin olive oil, Celtic salt, and fresh herbs, you'll have a dish full of flavor nutrients.

This pasta salad suggestion came from a school lunch I packed for my daughter one day. I was scrambling for an idea — often, the best ideas come from having the fewest ingredients and the least time! Orzo is great because it cooks quickly and you can make some in advance, keep it in the fridge, and mix it up with whatever you have on hand for lunch or a primi piatti for family dinner.

If you like this idea, save it to your recipe app so it's there when you need inspiration. Then, look in your fridge, or your garden, and see what you have to create the perfect pasta salad.

Ingredients

Orzo — or other pasta of your choice
Cucumber
Cherry tomatoes
Chives
Basil
Olive oil
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Cook the orzo (or other pasta) in salted water, reducing the cooking time on the package by 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, to cook the pasta al dente. Drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water.  (Rinsing the pasta for a cold pasta salad will prevent it from clumping together.)

Toss the pasta with chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, olive oil, sea salt, freshly ground pepper, chives, and basil.

Notes

If you grow herbs in your yard, remember you can use the flowers too!
 
IMG 7018

Share This

Facebook    Pinterest 

I often cook "au pif," as we say in France, which means cooking without an exact recipe and by "feel" using your intuition.  You’ll find guidelines in many recipes versus exact quantities.  Write to me here if you have any questions about the recipes.

Copyright 2019-2025, Return to the Table by Caterina De Falco, All Rights Reserved

You may also like these pasta ideas. They're perfect for kids' parties, summer entertaining, and picnics.

IMG 2107
Pasta salad made with leftovers packed for a picnic at the beach

I provide links to products and services I genuinely love and want to share with you. Some of these links may earn me a referral commission at no additional cost to you. This referral fee helps support this site. Thank you for your support!
Caterina DeFalco image for contact page
Ciao for now!
caterina's signature

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

Student Success Stories

  • Now I Have Great Kitchen Intuition!

    "Finding you [has] truly inspired me to cook more and focus on quality ingredients. Strengthening my kitchen intuition has been key, it's how I know to roll leftovers into something new or I can see what I bought and come up with creative solutions.

    As a family, we always valued sitting down together for dinner but now it's done with so much less stress. I can be done with work and still make easy meals . . . amazing quality meals that are thrown together in a short time and we get to enjoy each other!"

    1 2 3 5
  • My Family is Closer Than Ever

    “Your suggestions are so priceless! Thank you for such valuable content. My family is closer than ever, thanks to you!”

  • BRAVO! I'm in!

    “[Caterina is], in 5 steps, hitting all the major points of what works in generational connection across all cultures. Families don’t just happen, they are grown and this is the sweet and lasting way to do that. Bravo and I’m IN!”

  • A Real Game Changer

    "We have made a lot of progress over here under your care. We are now all eating from the same “pot” which I was surprised how much my kids loved. They were so excited when I put the food in the middle of the table. They asked for it the next day, Can we do that special fancy dinner thing where we have a feast? It really is such a better ritual—passing the food around and all sharing from the same platter, a real game changer."

  • Accidental Weight Loss!

    “I don't know if I told you, but I accidentally lost about 8 lbs after cutting out most semi-processed foods!"

Studio One44
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram