Orzo Pasta Salad with Roasted Shrimp

As most of you know, John and I are in the process of moving from Charleston, SC to Lexington, KY. We closed on the sale of our home here last week and we are enjoying a much needed week of vacation at the beach (Isle of Palms) with my family before we close on our new home on Friday. If you've ever moved, let alone orchestrated the sale and purchase of a home at the same time, surely you can understand the lack of blog posts as of late. As we get settled in next week, I assure you the pace will pick right back up! Two weeks ago now a group of us hosted a baby shower for our friend Luci. I volunteered to plan the menu for the Saturday brunch (approx 20 guests.) As much as I love to cook, when you're hosting, its important that you avoid putting in so much work on the front end of the event that you're frazzled by the time you get there. I'm a proponent of supplementing store bought or catered fare with a few fantastic homemade items to keep it manageable. I decided on the following:

Local Caterer:

Bite-sized Ham Biscuits

Assorted Tea Sandwiches (pimento cheese, chicken salad, and open faced cucumber and cream cheese)

Fruit Tray with Lemon Cream Dipping Sauce

Homemade:

Cheese Wafers

Tomato Pie

Orzo Pasta Salad with Roasted Shrimp

I was able to prepare all three items the day before the shower which was key. The pies were re-warmed just before serving (I'll save this recipe for another day soon) and the salad tasted even better the next day. I watched Ina Garten make this salad (recipe found here) years ago and I'd always wanted to try it. I made a larger portion (approx 1.5 times the recipe) to accommodate a group of 20 women as a side dish for the luncheon- however we had lots of left overs.

Orzo Pasta Salad with Roasted Shrimp adapted from Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa

1 and a half packages of Orzo Pasta

Medium/Large Shrimp (3 lbs peeled and de-veined)

Juice of 4-5 lemons (approx 3/4 cup juice)

A generous 2/3 cup good Olive Oil

1 bunch of Scallions- green and white parts, chopped

1 and a half Hothouse/English Cucumber- peeled and diced into cubes (not quite one inch)

One half of a medium/large Red Onion- diced

1 pound (generous) good quality Feta cheese- diced into cubes

1 cup chopped fresh Dill

3/4 cup chopped fresh Mint

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook the orzo pasta per package instructions. I always cut one minute from the cook time for al dente. While the pasta cooks, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper in the bottom of a large bowl. Drain the pasta well and then toss with the dressing in the bowl. Dressing the pasta while its warm allows the pasta to soak up the flavors and it keeps the pasta from clumping together as it cools.

Toss the shrimp with a generous drizzle of olive oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and black pepper directly on a large baking sheet. I actually moved half of the shrimp to a second baking sheet to ensure that I could spread them out well. I've found that you get the best caramelization if they aren't touching each other on the pan. Roast the shrimp in the oven for 5-6 minutes or until they are slightly firm to the touch. (I had one pan on the top rack and the other on the bottom rack in the oven so I switched them half way through the cook time.)

While the shrimp cool on the baking sheets (20 minutes or so), chop/dice/cube the remaining ingredients and toss into the bowl with the orzo. Finally add the shrimp and gently toss everything together. I transferred the salad to an extra large tupperware container and refrigerated overnight. I kept it refrigerated up until just before the guests were to arrive to ensure it was still cool and the shrimp stayed fresh.

It was a lovely Spring/Summer dish and it comes together fairly quickly. It would be a delicious for a picnic lunch all by itself or as an impressive side dish for a cook out. I think it worked perfectly with the menu. It dressed things up a bit from the standard tea or luncheon fare while saving all of the oogling for the mom-to-be and the darling baby clothes and gifts. For dessert we had an adorable AND delicious cake (topped with two little baby shoes made of fondant)courtesy of a friend of a friend and to sip on we had Prosecco and Pellegrino with assorted juices to mix in (orange, cramberry, etc). All in all I think it was a great event!