Pulled Pork & Orzo Italian Salad

With roasted garlic

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Servings: About 4 quarts

This dish does take a bit of planning, but it’s simple to prepare and well worth the result — a big bowl of flavorful pasta salad. Keeps well for up to a week in the refrigerator, and flavors improve with age. Best served at room temperature, and pairs beautifully with our Everything Bubble Bread.

Ingredients

5–6 pounds pork butt, cooked, shredded and chopped (cook ahead in crockpot)

1 box (16 ounces) orzo, cooked per package directions

1 jar (8.5 ounces) julienned sun dried tomatoes with oil, undrained

1 jar (3.5 ounces) capers, drained

1 jar (12 ounces) roasted red peppers, drained and chopped (We used Mt. Olive.)

1 cup white raisins

1 cup toasted pine nuts

½ cup loosely packed, chopped fresh parsley

1 bag (6 ounces) baby spinach, roughly chopped

3 tablespoons dried oregano

2 tablespoons honey

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper

4 heads roasted garlic*

1 cup oil*

Directions

Fold pork into orzo. Add remaining ingredients, stirring until well blended. Serve immediately or refrigerate to serve later. Best if removed from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.
*Cut tops from 4 heads of garlic. Place in small baking dish. Pour oil over garlic. Roast at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool and squeeze cloves into salad, along with the oil.

What is orzo?

Orzo is sometimes confused with rice, but it’s actually an Italian pasta that looks like large-grain rice. Although typically used as pasta, orzo can often be interchanged with rice. Some combine with rice when making risotto. Find it in most grocery stores in the pasta section.