This warming orzo salad is the perfect springtime lunch!

With summer just around the corner, our diets are beginning to shift. Our meals are getting lighter and there’s some lovely fresh seasonal produce making their way back into our supermarkets and onto our plates.

But we’re not quite at the stage of having light summer lunches yet. There’s still enough of a nip in the air that we want something warm and nourishing at lunchtime, but not as heavy at our winter meals. Warm salads are a wonderful in-between lunch that will be warming and utterly nutritious but at the same time, not too filling and heavy that we feel sluggish in the afternoon.

This warm orzo salad is full of Mediterranean veggies, fresh and flavoursome herbs and zesty lemon to give it a little kick!

You’ll need…

200ml vegetable broth

100ml water

1 cucumber

100g feta

1 handful fresh parsley

Zest of ½ a lemon

1bunch fresh basil

50ml lemon juice

2 large tomatoes

200g orzo pasta

Salt and pepper

30ml olive oil

In a saucepan, heat your water and vegetable broth over a medium heat and allow to bubble.

Toss in your orzo and cook for 7-8 minutes or until softened.

Strain the orzo and put it in a bowl.

Drizzle olive oil and lemon juice on top of the orzo and mix it in.

Next, chop your tomato, cucumber and feta into bite size pieces and add them into the bowl.

Next, chop your basil, parsley and toss them in along with your grated lemon. Mix them all in and season with salt and pepper.

Serve with an extra topping of fresh basil leaves for a garnish and dig in!