This cold orzo salad is filled with fresh neighborhood market ingredients tossed with a simple lime-cilantro vinaigrette. Locally harvested jumbo shrimp marinated in lime zest, lime juice, pepper flakes, smoked paprika and olive oil. The shrimp are tossed into a pain and sautéed for a few minutes, until they turn a bright pink.
I’ve be drawn to cold salads. Not only because they are perfect for warm weather meals and cook-outs, also because these cold salads are pretty simple to throw together. On a day when you want to use the oven at the bare minimum if at all.
Ingredients for this Orzo Prawn Salad with Lime Vinaigrette:
Orzo: I chose a boxed orzo by Barilla pasta. A tiny simple pasta that takes only minutes to cook to a slightly al dente texture.
Veggies: Chopped zucchini, celery, cherry tomatoes made the perfect choice of vegetables to toss right in. Carrots, asparagus or artichoke hearts would also be nice in this salad.
Beans: I like the creaminess of a black bean. Black beans from a can was easy, but soaking dry beans and cooking them is a less expensive way to go. Canned beans are great in a pinch.
Seafood: Our neighborhood market had a great deal on jumbo shrimp. I nabbed about 12 of these for only 5 bucks.
Citrus: Limed seemed perfect for this dish. Choosing the best lime is a careful action. Digging through the pile for the best, ripest limes.
Herbs: What goes better with limes and black beans? Well, cilantro! I think I might start growing cilantro in my tine studio apartment in NYC. The cilantro at our neighborhood market is great for only $1.99, but it would be nice to grow it.
Bulbs and cloves: Purple onions are not as popular as people think. At least not where I come from in upstate NY. The white or yellow onion is the go-to. But I love purple (or red, as they are also referred to) onions for most of my dishes.
Honey: I love honey! The darker the better in my opinion. Same goes if it’s raw. Sometimes a vinaigrette does require a lighter honey as not to over power the flavor profile of the vinaigrette.
How to make the Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette:
Add a minced garlic clove, pepper flakes, lime zest, lime juice, cilantro, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to a mini food processor and mix until fully blended.
How to make this Orzo Prawn Salad:
Marinate the shrimp: Toss the shrimp into a bowl and add lime zest and juice. Also add pepper flakes, smoked paprika and minced garlic. Flesh of the shrimp is pretty thin and delicate so you will only need to marinate them for about 5-7 minutes. Then saute in a pan until the shrimp turn a pinkish organge.
Boil the orzo: while the shrimp are marinating, toss the orzo into well salted boiling water with a table spoon of olive oil. Bowl until slightly al dente. Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking.
Chop and mince: Cut the cherry tomatoes in half, rough chop the cilantro, mince a clove of garlic and finely chop the onion, and add the ingredients to a large bowl.
Assemble: Toss in the shrimp, black beans and cilantro-lime vinaigrette to the veggies and mix until well coated with the vinaigrette. Salt and pepper to taste.
If you love the Orzo Prawn Salad with Lime Vinaigrette, you might also like:
Lemony Grilled Shrimp Herb Pasta Salad
Basil Pesto Linguine Summer Salad
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Orzo Prawn Salad with Lime Vinaigrette
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Cook Time: 32 Minutes
- Total Time: 52 Minutes
- Yield: 10 half cups 1x
Description
A simple cold orzo pasta salad made with fresh ingredients and tossed with a zesty honey lime cilantro vinaigrette.
Ingredients
Shrimp Marinade
- 12–15 jumbo shrimp
- zest of two limes plus juice
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon spoked paprika
- 1/2 tablespoon pepper flakes
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- pepper to taste
Honey Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons cilantro
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- zest of two limes plus juice
- 1–2 tablespoons honey
- 1/4 extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Pasta Salad
- 1.5 cups cook orzo pasta, cooked according to the instructions on the box
- 1 large green zucchini, chopped into small cubes
- 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup celery, chopped finely
- 1 15 ounce can of black beans, rinsed well
- 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Small handfull of cilantro, rough chopped
Instructions
Honey Lime-Cilantro Vinaigrette
- Add all the vinaigrette ingredients to a mini food processor, mix until fully blended and the cilantro has been finely chopped. Set aside.
Marinade and Sauted Shrimp
- Add the raw shrimp to a small mixing bowl. Add in the lime zest and juice, minced garlic, smoked paprika, pepper flakes, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss together until fully coated, and let set for 7-9 minutes.
- Saute the shrimp with the luiqid for 5-7 minutes, until the shrimp have truned a pinkish-orage color, and the liquid as cooked into the shrimp. Let completely cool. You can place this in the fridge while you prep the other ingredients.
The Pasta Salad
- Set a pot of well salted water with a splash or two of extra virgin olive oil on the stove and bring to a boil. Add 1 cup of orzo pasta and boil until slightly al dente, Rinse under cold water to stop orzo from cooking any further. Add the orzo to a large bowl. Set aside.
- Add the chopped zucchini, halved cherry tomatoes, chopped onions, minced garlic, rough chopped cilantro, shrimp, vinaigrette and toss until fully coated with the vinaigrette. Drizzle in a little more extra virgin olive oil.
- Either serve right away or chill in the fridge right before you serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- This Orzo Prawn Salad with Lime Vinaigrette will go great with a nice frech baguette and a glass of chilled dry white wine.
- You just might have some left overs if this yummy salad wasn’t all consumed in one sitting. Store in the fridge in an airtight container. When ready to eat the left-overs, either drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil or mix up a little of that Honey Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette.
