By Sara Dickerman
- Total Time
- About 50 minutes
- Rating
- 4(308)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Featured in: FOOD: THE WAY WE EAT; Olympic Dinners
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Ingredients
Yield:Serves 6 to 8
- Kosher salt
- 2cups dried orzo
- 6tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, or as needed
- 3cups ½-inch-diced eggplant (from a 1-pound eggplant)
- ¼cup canola oil
- 3tablespoons flour
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon, fresh lemon juice, or as needed
- ¼cup Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced lengthwise into ¼-inch slivers
- ¾cup chopped roasted red peppers (jarred or homemade)
- 1tablespoon finely chopped mint
- 1tablespoon finely chopped dill
- 2tablespoons roughly chopped basil
- 4ounces manouri, cut into ½-inch cubes (about ¾ cup)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
276 calories; 18 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 25 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 227 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Preparation
Step
1
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the orzo according to the package directions. Drain, toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and spread on a baking sheet. Let cool in the refrigerator.
Step
2
Toss the eggplant with 1½ teaspoons salt and place in a colander set over a bowl or in a sink. Put several bowls or plates on top of the eggplant and let drain for at least 30 minutes.
Step
3
Line a baking sheet with paper towels and set aside. In a heavy 10-inch skillet, heat 4 tablespoons of the olive oil and the canola oil over medium heat. Squeeze the excess liquid from the eggplant, blot with paper towels and toss in a bowl with the flour. In two batches, fry the eggplant until the cubes are crisp and golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to the prepared baking sheet. (Add a little extra oil to the pan for the second batch, as needed.)
Step
4
In a large bowl, toss the orzo with 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, the lemon juice and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Fold in the olives, peppers, mint, dill, basil and manouri. Taste and adjust for seasoning with additional salt, pepper, lemon juice or olive oil. Just before serving, toss in the fried eggplant.
Ratings
4
out of 5
308
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Cooking Notes
Erin
I've made this many times and always receive positive feedback! I bake the diced eggplant at 400 instead of frying it; at the end I turn the oven to 'broil' for a couple minutes to crisp the eggplant. I do not use the flour. I sub feta cheese for Manouri, as I never find Manouri at my local store.
Mo Henry
This is pretty good. I love orzo salads. However, this doesn't really make sense for the category it's in- lunch food to take to work. The eggplant does not keep overnight and become oily and gummy with the flour. I tried crisping them in the oven right before I left for the office, but they didn't last for 4 hours. Better as a lunch or dinner at home.
I would roast the eggplant in a small amount of olive oil next time.
Ronnie
Perhaps I've been slow to notice the nutritional information feature at the bottom of the ingredients list. It's a boon when checking for certain items (fats and sugar content, e.g.) and adapting the recipe.
REBECCA CHERRY
I'll bet this is delicious as is; but, as I cannot resist the urge to enhance, I borrowed from a recipe of similar concept. I used red wine vinegar in this dressing and grilled some lamb skewers. Also, grilled instead of fried the eggplant and did the same with 1/2 a red onion. I didn't have manouri or dill, but did have standard greek feta and dried oregano. Added capers into the mix, tossed it all together as directed here and ate it. And, I'd be happy to do so, again.
KM2021
Used feta as that was what we could find and roasted the eggplant instead. Served at a party and it was a huge hit! Will make again.
Mare
I grilled the eggplant, onion, and peppers, which added a nice flavor to the salad. Otherwise I made as directed & we enjoyed for many heatwave meals!
Skj
Really really tasty combo of flavors but way too much orzo. I'd do maybe a cup dried if not less.
Gayle
Needs red wine vinegar too
BD
I used this recipe as a base. I didn't have orzo so used Israeli couscous. I grilled eggplant, fennel, onion and red peppers. (Did not sweat the eggplant). Used twice as much herbs. Capers because no olives. Feta because couldn't find manouri. Added a preserved lemon as someone else suggested. Probably a bit more olive oil and a splash of red wine vinegar. Delish and the left-overs are awesome!
quaasam
Excellent. I did grill the eggplants, much easier and less oily. Other than that followed the recipe. Delicious. Served at room temperature. will do it again.
Phil
Every single time I prep the eggplant like this - the cutting, salting, weighting, draining - I end up with <1/2 teaspoon of eggplant juice and swearing I'll never waste my time on that again.
Matt C
Made this now three times and settled into a good variant: we pretty much halved the orzo but kept all the other ingredients the same and it was excellent. For this strategy, be careful on the dressing: it’s easy to over lemon. We added a bit of balsamic too, which was nice.
SaratogaTB
If you have folks that think they don’t like eggplant, this is your recipe. Our CSA had lots of eggplant this week, so I looked feverishly for a recipe to use it. It hot and humid out and we could not have enjoyed a more delightful summer dinner salad. Don’t be afraid to really let the eggplant sizzle, really let it cook into dark brown cubes. It takes more time, but well worth it. We used feta as it’s all we could find and it was perfect. We will be making this again!
Beulah
Had a hankering for butternut squash, so roasted that and eggplant and red onion and fennel until browned. Also used feta because that's what I had. These give it a bit more of an autumn feel but the veg were great together. Considering stirring in a few spinach leaves, Obviously, we are all using this as a blueprint and adding our own details. A pretty and tasty dish.
Patrick Vernaelde
I really enjoy making my own vinaigrette, noblesse oblige, so I find the various additions of oils, lemon, salt and paper a bit random and would rather add to a salad the ingredients I truly enjoy.
Kendra
This was easy and a real crowd pleaser. We cooked the orzo the night before, used grilled eggplant in place of fried eggplant - which added a nice smokiness - and subbed manouri for feta.
sbenolken
Grilled eggplant or squash instead of frying it
leah
This was good as is, but I felt it was slightly bland and didn’t feel that the eggplant maintained its integrity when being held in the fridge for a few days. Second time around I smoked the eggplant, added sundried tomatoes and preserved lemons, and olive oil with a dash of balsamic. It’s good either way, but better with the additions.
M.J.
Followed this to a T, and it was disappointingly bland. I might make it again with only 1 cup or slightly more dry orzo, boosting the fresh herbs and adding smashed roasted garlic.
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