Wild Rice Orzo Salad

Once upon a time, I had lunch at a restaurant called Brio. I ordered the Eggplant Pomodoro Panini which came with a side of "wild rice salad". I was skeptical of the wild rice salad and kindly asked the waitress if it was tasty or if I should order a side salad instead. She convinced me to order the rice salad and I fell in love. I didn't even finish the panini that I was desperately craving because I wanted to make sure my stomach had enough room to fit the deliciousness that my taste buds were experiencing. Before I finished, I picked through the salad and took note of all of the ingredients so that I wouldn't forget.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a copycat recipe anywhere on Google so I had to make my own and I have to admit, it is pretty spot on. I think I will make a huge batch of this each week because it is so delicious and healthy Next time I will probably add some chicken and/or feta cheese would go really nice in it as well!

Wild Rice Orzo Salad
Servings: Four


Ingredients


For the salad:
1 cup cooked orzo
I cup cooked wild rice (make sure not to buy "wild rice blend")
1/2 cup diced red pepper
1/2 cup diced yellow pepper
2/3 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds
1/4 cup chopped green onion
2/3 cup chopped cilantro


For the dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tblsp lemon juice
1 tblsp minced shallot
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp sugar
zest of one lemon


Directions:
Note: All of the amounts are approximate. I didn't really measure when I made the salad so add more or less as you please.
1. Get a random weirdly dressed Swedish girl to chop all of the ingredients (so that you don't have to).

You might want to use a bigger chopping board..

2. Combine all of the salad ingredients and mix with the dressing.
3. Let it sit for at least an hour so that the flavors mix. Enjoy!