Base It on Orzo

Summer is salad time, yes, but a salad needn’t be just green and leafy.

Orzo, a small rice-shaped pasta, is a great base for light summer salads. And it’ll make your salad something to talk about: Your guests will debate whether the dish is rice or pasta.

To keep the orzo from clumping together after cooking, quickly stir in the vinegar and lemon juice. Buy really ripe good tomatoes (or use the best from your garden) because the juices from the tomatoes form the salad dressing, along with the juices from the other vegetables.

Serve the salad chilled, with a sprinkle of sunflower seeds for a nice crunch.

Look for orzo at well-stocked supermarkets and gourmet markets.

Summer Vegetable Salad

Active Work Time: 20 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 30 minutes plus 1 hour chilling

Hungarian green peppers are pale green, long and thin. Look for them at well-stocked markets. If you can’t find one, substitute a green bell pepper.

Nonstick cooking spray

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 shallot, minced

1 cup orzo

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can nonfat chicken broth

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

5 tomatoes, diced

2 zucchini, diced

2 yellow squash, diced

1 Hungarian green pepper, seeded and diced

1 cup diced red onion

2 tablespoons minced basil

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 head Boston lettuce, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons dry-roasted sunflower seeds

* Spray bottom of large saucepan with nonstick cooking spray. Heat oil over medium-low heat, then add shallot and saute about 1 minute, stirring. Stir in orzo. Add broth. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until orzo is tender and liquid is absorbed, 10 to 11 minutes. Put orzo in large bowl. Stir in vinegar and lemon juice. Stir in tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, green pepper, onion, basil, salt and pepper.

* Cover and chill 1 hour. Stir in lettuce. Spoon into serving bowl and sprinkle with sunflower seeds.

8 servings. Each serving: 114 calories; 492 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 2 grams fat; 19 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 1.08 grams fiber.