Ina Garten’s shrimp and orzo recipe is a crowd pleaser, and it’s so easy to make that you can even make it ahead of time. That means you can enjoy it for lunch or dinner without the stress of the last-minute rush!
It also makes a delicious, healthy side dish. Try it with grilled or roasted peppers, feta, and other tasty add-ins to create your own unique flavor profile!
Ingredients
The Barefoot Contessa has a lot of fan-favorite recipes, but her roasted shrimp and orzo salad is one that you’ll be making again and again. It’s light, refreshing and surprisingly tasty.
The best part is that it’s easy to make and even easier to eat. The trick to getting it right is to start with fresh, high-quality ingredients.
First, cook the pasta in boiling water. It takes about 8 minutes to cook al dente (to the tooth). Drain and toss with a lemon juice, oil, salt, and pepper mixture.
You can also try a shortcut method by using precooked orzo that has been drained and tossed with the dressing of your choice.
While you’re at it, roast a few vegetables to serve with the dish, like roasted red bell peppers. It’s a simple idea that results in an elegant looking plate of colorful and flavorful food. It’s a great side dish for a family meal or a picnic. You can also serve it on its own for a refreshing lunch or light dinner. This recipe has received rave reviews from Food Network viewers. It’s also a fun way to use up leftovers! The next time you’re craving a delicious meal, give this a try.
Preparation
A summer salad that’s quick and easy to make, this shrimp and orzo recipe barefoot contessa is perfect for brown bag lunches, picnics, barbecues, and church potlucks. It’s also a great meal to prep ahead for the week so you can bring it to parties or family dinners when you’re in a pinch.
To prepare this salad, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Then, toss the shrimp with olive oil, salt, and pepper on a sheet pan. Roast the shrimp for about 6 minutes, until they’re cooked through.
Once the shrimp are ready, remove them from the oven and toss them with the cooked orzo pasta. Add the scallions, dill, parsley, cucumber, onion, 2 teaspoons of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, and feta cheese. Gently stir to combine. Set the bowl of salad aside to let the flavors marinate for an hour or so, or refrigerate overnight and rewarm before serving.
While you’re making this dish, take time to taste-test the seasonings and adjust the salt as necessary. This is particularly true for feta, which can vary in how much extra salt it needs.
The orzo cooks quickly and absorbs all the liquid it’s cooking in, so you’ll want to stir often to prevent burning the pasta. It’s also important to ensure that the pasta is cooked to al dente – a “to the tooth” stage.
This pasta salad is great paired with grilled chicken or salmon, but it’s especially flavorful when served alongside breaded fish or a burger. It’s also a delicious side for fish tacos and other seafood dishes.
Ina Garten is a huge fan of this shrimp and orzo salad and she says it’s one of her favorite things to make for friends and family. She combines juicy shrimp and crunchy orzo pasta with fresh herbs, feta, and a zesty lemon vinaigrette in this easy summer dish.
This dish is a crowd-pleasing combination of Mediterranean flavors that will have everyone asking for more. It’s easy to make ahead and can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Cooking
Ina Garten has a lot of fan-favorite recipes, but her roasted shrimp and orzo salad is a standout. The salad is easy to make and tastes just as good as it looks, making it the perfect choice for a lunch or dinner on the patio or a picnic under the stars.
The best part is that the cooking process is simple, and you can even do it all in one go! First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Then, boil a pot of water, add a splash of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of salt, then add the orzo. Simmer for 9 to 11 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the orzo is cooked al dente (a.k.a. ‘to the tooth’).
The real star here is a clever and easy to make lemon dill dressing. It might be a little more expensive than a bottle of your favorite store-bought lemon juice, but the result is an award-winning dish that will make you a hero at the dinner table. A side note: if you are using an electric stovetop, you will need to turn the burners off after the orzo is done so that it does not burn on the top of your kitchen range grater.
Serving
Ina Garten’s shrimp and orzo recipe barefoot contessa is a light pasta salad that you can enjoy on a hot day or for a picnic or barbecue. It’s easy to make and gets better as it sits. The recipe includes roasted shrimp, a lemon vinaigrette, green onions, and red onion for “sharp flavor,” and crumbled feta.
The Barefoot Contessa television show and her 12 cookbooks are the result of Ina Garten’s passion for cooking and entertaining. She teaches viewers how to prepare a wide range of dishes with minimal effort and time.
Her show has won numerous awards and sparked a cult following among foodies. She also runs the Barefoot Contessa website and is a columnist for O, The Oprah Magazine.
While her recipes are known for being light and simple, it’s hard to miss the fact that she is a pro cook. In addition to her show, Garten has written several books, including Barefoot in Paris and a series of cookbooks for children.
She has her own line of packaged cakes, marinades, sauces, and preserves, called the Barefoot Contessa Pantry, that she launched in 2006. These items are based on her popular from-scratch recipes.
As far as the name itself goes, it actually dates back to Garten’s specialty food store in the Hamptons, which she bought in 1978 despite not having much experience in the food business. She was a little reluctant to name her store “Barefoot Contessa” at first, but after a month of working in the store she fell in love with the elegant and earthy name.
To make the shrimp and orzo, Garten tossed the cooked shrimp in olive oil, salt, and pepper before roasting them for just 6 minutes in the oven. Then, she added them to the cooked orzo with scallions, red onion, dill, parsley, and cucumber cubes.
This dish is a favorite of hers, and it’s a great choice for summer lunches or dinners. In fact, it has earned rave 5 star reviews on the Food Network website. The recipe makes enough for eight servings and is a quick and easy dish to make.