Greek Chicken Orzo Salad (Recipe Inspired by CIRCE)

As I was making this Greek Chicken Orzo Salad, I realized something: for someone who doesn’t really like mint, I sure am making a lot of recipes with mint these days.

Mint is just so fresh tasting. It brightens up any savory dish with an unexpected zip, and it imparts a refreshing coolness to sweet desserts.

Can you really blame me for over-using it this summer? Nope. I didn’t think so.

Spoiler alert: this Greek Chicken Orzo Salad contains mint. Obviously. And, a lot of other delicious spices and ingredients. So, I hope you’ll bear with me and my Summer of Mint, because, I assure you — this meal is one you’re going to be craving for the rest of the summer and straight through fall.

I had a lot of fun thinking up a book-inspired for Circe. I was initially flummoxed about what to make. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Greek food is gyros, but I’ve already been there, done that with my Lazy Man’s Gyros.

So, it was back to the drawing board, and my mind kept circling back to a Greek chicken dish served at my favorite local restaurant. My husband and I order it regularly, and I love it because of the orzo salad the chicken is served with. It’s lightly sweet, perfectly vinegary, and a little bit salty all at once, and I’ve spent quite a lot of time thinking about how they get it to be so darn delicious.

I think I’ve figured it out.

I’m usually not a fan of orzo — I figure, if I’m gonna have pasta with my meal, I’m gonna go big or go home. None of these tiny little grains of pasta that look like rice; give me rigatoni or ziti, or if I’m feeling decadent, a nice tortellini.

But, orzo is closely associated with Greek dishes, and it happens to work really well in this Greek Chicken Orzo Salad.

Let’s talk about the chicken first. I pan-seared, then steamed the chicken breasts on the stove, periodically basting them in a savory marinade made with lemon, honey, fresh mint, and dried oregano. The honey caramelizes as the chicken cooks, giving the meat a glossy, golden sheen and an incredibly intense flavor. Best of all, the chicken gets a little crispy on the outside while staying moist and juicy on the inside.

Honestly, I could eat this chicken all on its own. It’s that fantastic.

It gets even better when you slice it up and serve it over some pasta and veggies. This Greek Chicken Orzo Salad awakens all your taste buds. You have (prepare yourself!) a bit of zing from the lemons; sweetness from the honey; a little bitterness from the chopped shallot; zippy freshness from the chopped mint; and some salty goodness from the feta cheese crumbles.

You can throw whatever veggies you want into this Greek Chicken Orzo Salad, but I used crisp, English cucumbers (they really hold up well in the dressing) and plump, grape tomatoes for a fresh, summery taste.

Make sure you toss the salad while the orzo is still hot; this way, the tender pasta just soaks up all that herby, sweet-and-sour dressing.

I recommend making dish this at least a few hours, if not a whole day ahead of time since the ingredients become more saturated with flavor the longer they sit in the dressing.

When you’re ready to serve, take a nice scoopful of marinated orzo, veggies, and feta, then lay your sliced chicken on top, and voilà (or, whatever the Greek equivalent of voilà is)! You have a quick, easy dinner on a weeknight or a healthy, filling lunch during the work day. Or, if you’re like me and trying to squeeze as much summertime out of this month as you can, throw a BBQ and present this baby as a side dish. You can make the chicken on the grill instead of the stove!

AND…if you really want to kick the Greek flavors up a notch, whip up a batch of my homemade tzatziki sauce to dollop right on top of the Greek Chicken Orzo Salad. I did this with the leftovers, and I think it’s the only way I’m going to serve this dish from now on.

Greek Chicken Orzo Salad

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 44 minutes mins

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  

SALAD DRESSING INGREDIENTS

• 3 tbsp honey
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp apple cider veingar
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1/2 cup fresh mint, finely chopped
• 1 tsp minced shallot
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano

MARINADE INGREDIENTS

• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1/4 cup fresh mint, finely chopped
• 1/8 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano

GREEK CHICKEN ORZO SALAD

• 2 cups uncooked orzo pasta
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 boneless, skinles chicken breasts
• 3/4 cup feta cheese crumbles
• 3 1/2 cups chopped English cucumber
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes
• salt, to taste
• Ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

 

PREP AND COOKING INSTRUCTIONS FOR ORZO SALAD

• Combine all salad dressing ingredients in a mason jar. Screw lid onto the jar and shake vigorously to mix ingredients. Set aside.
• Chop the cucumber and tomatoes into bite-size pieces and place in a large salad bowl. Set aside.
• Cook orzo according to package instructions, then drain using a fine mesh strainer. Immediately add the hot pasta to the salad bowl containing the vegetables.**
• Add 1/2 cup feta crumbles to the salad.
• Pour the salad dressing onto the orzo salad in 1/4 cup increments, tossing thoroughly between each addition to allow the hot orzo, veggies, and feta to soak up the dressing.
• Refrigerate orzo salad for at least 2-3 hours, but 4-6 hours (or overnight) is preferable.

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS FOR CHICKEN AND ASSEMBLING SALAD

• Whisk together all marinade ingredients in a small bowl, then set aside.
• Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Liberally sprinkle both sides of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, then add chicken to the hot pan. Sear chicken on one side, 4-5 minutes, then flip over the breasts and sear on the other side, 2-3 minutes.
• Use a pastry brush to baste each chicken breast, then flip the chicken over and baste the other side. Place a lid on the pan and cook chicken about 10-15 minutes, flipping the breasts over and re-basting every 3-4 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and deep brown on the outside. Discard any remaining marinade.
• Remove cooked chicken to a cutting board and let rest about 5 minutes.
• Pull the chilled orzo salad from the fridge. Slice chicken breasts into thin strips and place on top of the salad, along with the remaining 1/4 up of feta crumbles.

Notes

**If your orzo is a little starchy -- mine was -- rinse it quickly in the strainer using warm water, then add it to the salad bowl.