OOOORRRZZZOOOO…. I love saying the word ORZO.  It kinda rolls off the tongue and sounds cool.  Maybe Ferrari should create a new car and call it Orzo.  I would buy one. I bet a lot of people would.

Orzo is a small pasta.  The word Orzo is actually Italian for ‘Barley’.  It is shaped like a grain of Rice or kernel of Barley, only larger.   It has gained it’s fame over the years from being included in numerous Italian soup, casserole and side dish recipes.

It is the star of an Orzo with Parmesan and Sun-Dried Tomatoes.  It has an almost risotto like quality in it’s appearance as a hot side dish.

Orzo is silently attempting to overthrow the Elbow Macaroni in the cold pasta salad department.  Elbow has had a lock on cold pasta salad dishes for decades.  Pretty much everyone has their ‘own’ recipe for macaroni salad.  The old standby for holidays, pot lucks and picnics.  But now there is a new kid in town that is smaller and allows for more veggies to be included in the same size bowl of salad as a regular macaroni salad, but don’t tell the kids that.

Easy and quick to cook (taking as little as 8-10 minutes for al dente),  these marvelous little pasta nuggets are ideal for throwing a quick picnic salad together, like my Mexican Orzo & Black Bean Salad.

So why not take that old standby macaroni salad recipe and revamp it using Orzo? I bet you will love the change and the texture.  Be adventurous! It’s only pasta after all.

Orzzzzooooooooooooooo……