Fig and Tomato Orzo Salad

posted on August 25, 2015

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I feel like I say this about any in-season produce item, but I’m in love with figs.

Juicy tomatoes, sweet figs, bold blue cheese, fresh herbs, and crunchy walnuts come together with a sticky drizzle of balsamic glaze, to create a Summer picnic, pasta salad masterpiece. | www.spachethespatula.com #recipe I think I literally jumped for joy when I saw them start to show up at markets and grocery stores a few weeks back. Yeah…I truly do get that excited about food.

You know who else is obsessed with figs? My mom. Every single time I go home to Florida, she’s like “Rachael, are figs in season? Can you make that fig thing?” I’ve made “that fig thing” more times that I can count. But to be fair, it’s easy as hell, and tastes amazing…

This fig thing also tastes amazing 😛

Juicy tomatoes, sweet figs, bold blue cheese, fresh herbs, and crunchy walnuts come together with a sticky drizzle of balsamic glaze, to create a Summer picnic, pasta salad masterpiece. | www.spachethespatula.com #recipe This is such a unique pasta salad, and it comes together really fast. The only thing that needs cooking is the orzo. After that, just chop a couple things up, and throw it all together—et voila!

Juicy tomatoes, sweet figs, bold blue cheese, fresh herbs, and crunchy walnuts come together with a sticky drizzle of balsamic glaze, to create a Summer picnic, pasta salad masterpiece.

You can serve this at pretty much whatever temperature you want. If you toss it all together while the pasta is still hot, the blue cheese will melt a bit and get everything all creamy. I also love it just at room temperature. I’m not as much of a fan of it once it’s totally chilled, because cold pasta just isn’t my favorite texture, but let it sit out a bit and it’ll be fantastic.

I think some grilled chicken breast over top would make this into an incredible meal, but it’s totally lovely all on its own, too 🙂

Because I’m me and forget everything, I totally forgot to add the chopped walnuts on top, which are absolutely necessary for textural contrast. So naturally, I had to snap a couple more photos once the walnuts hit the plate…but just in case you were wondering why they’re MIA in some of the photos…it’s because I’m totally scatterbrained lol.

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Fig and Tomato Orzo Salad

Yield: 2-4 servings

Ingredients:

1 cup dry orzo pasta
2 tbsp good-quality olive oil
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 cup quartered black mission figs
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 tbsp chopped fresh chives
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
salt and pepper
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
balsamic glaze (reduced balsamic vinegar)

Directions:

Cook the orzo according to your package directions. Drain and put into a large bowl, and toss with the olive oil.
Add in the tomatoes, figs, cheese, and herbs, and toss to combine. Season, to taste with salt and pepper. Scatter the walnuts over the top, and drizzle generously with the balsamic glaze.