Birthday Lunch

Last Tuesday my mother-in-law turned 97, and in honor of her birthday, I cooked a special lunch for the whole family. It was a scorcher of a day, so I made an assortment of Moroccan mezes, along with my favorite flourless chocolate cake, and a pasta salad from my upcoming book. The salad has been one of my favorite summer meals for a very long time. Oh hot days, I serve it as a main course or a side dish at room temperature but I find it's good in winter, too, especially alongside roasted lamb.

Three or four years ago, after my youngest daughter spent time in Morocco and introduced us all to fresh mint tea, we started a mint patch in our garden. The trick to this salad is to add the fresh mint at the very last minute, after the dish has cooled to serving temperature.

Orzo Salad with Currants and Mint
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup slivered almonds
6 quarts boiling water
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1/2 pound orzo (also called riso)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup Zante currants
4-5 sprigs fresh mint (about ten leaves, or 1/8 - 1/4 cup when chopped fine)
Drizzle of balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Using a small cast iron frying pan, melt the butter until it is fragrant and beginning to color and add the almonds. Cook, stirring, until the nuts brown lightly. Set aside.

Boil the orzo in the salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and put in a serving platter, and toss with the olive oil.

Put the currents in the platter along with the browned almonds. Toss well and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Taste for salt and pepper. When ready to serve, add the chopped mint and toss again.

Here it is, just before I added the mint and stirred it all together. I like to put the almonds on top of the orzo and let it sit like that as it cools -- it helps the oil to drip down and prevent the orzo from sticking.