Minted Orzo Salad with Chickpeas and Feta

I tried a delicious recipe from a newly discovered blog this evening.  http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/

All my favourite ingredients - mint, feta, red onions - and really straight forward to make.  Just cook the orzo in the stock (let it cool) and mix with the other ingredients (see the link above for the full recipe).  I added a lamb chop on the side for the hungry farmer (in case he thought that the meat had accidently fallen off the plate) but my only addition was a glass of wine!

To save any Brits from having to look up cup to gram conversions, these are the approximate amounts that I used:

• 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
• 300g dry orzo pasta
• 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 100g crumbled feta cheese
• 1 small finely chopped red onion
• 2 sticks chopped celery
• 2 handfuls fresh basil, finely chopped
• 2 handfuls fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

Red Wine Vinaigrette

• 3 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic

I was lazy and decided to make the vinaigrette using a pestle and mortar, only to find the garlic floating around and impossible to crush...should have done as I was told and used a blender!