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summer recipes

Roasted Rainbow Vegetable Orzo

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Adapted from the recipe by Erica Baty

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Makes 6 servings 

Ingredients

*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

For the vegetables:

  • 1/2 large red onion*, diced
  • 1 zucchini*, diced
  • 1 yellow squash*, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 orange bell pepper, diced
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon each kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper

For the dressing:

  • 1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon each kosher salt and pepper
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley*, finely chopped

To assemble the dish:

  • ½ lb orzo
  • 1 cup fresh basil*, finely chopped
  • 4 scallions*, sliced
  • 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
  • 8oz block feta or goat cheese*, cubed

Instructions

Roasted vegetables: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drizzle vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning and toss to coat. Roast vegetables for 25 minutes until crispy and golden brown around the edges.

 

To make the dressing: Whisk all dressing ingredients together. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

To assemble the dish: Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet for 2-3 minutes, careful not to burn! Cook orzo according to package instructions. Drain and return to pot. Toss with several tablespoons of the dressing immediately with the hot pasta. Add the roasted vegetables, fresh herbs, chunks of feta or goat cheese, and the rest of the dressing. Toss gently to combine. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Notes

*Make it gluten-free: use gluten free orzo or other GF pasta

**Make it dairy free: omit the feta

Cooking fresh and flavorful summer meals

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By Julia Howard

Wednesday Market, photo by Pattie Garrett

At home, when the weather gets hot, we often turn to cool meals and eat al fresco outside on the patio. It’s time for hearty summer salads, refreshing chilled soups, cold drinks and smoothies, and grilling flavorful fish, seafood, meat, and poultry.

Summer eating becomes a way to connect with our immediate environment and the seasons – a ritual that we savor in Upstate New York. For inspiration, Diane Whitten, Food and Nutrition Educator for Cornell Cooperative Extension in Saratoga County, reminds us that fresh food is the best food. “In the summer, it’s so much easier to eat healthy with fresh produce,” says Whitten. “At the farmers’ market, the produce is so fresh and flavorful that it calls out to you. You can’t get it any fresher,” she adds.

Produce sold at the farmers’ market is harvested sometimes within hours of being placed on market tables and sold to customers. “Because it’s so fresh, fruits, vegetables, and herbs are flavorful on their own with little added ingredients,” explains Whitten.

In following the farmers’ market tradition of eating fresh, Diane Whitten shares three of her favorite in-season summer recipes: chilled cucumber soup, green peanut butter and banana smoothie, and sesame snow peas. These recipes feature in-season ingredients available at this week’s markets.