Greek Orzo Pasta with Grilled Summer Vegetables

Marinate veggies (zucchini, yellow squash, red onion and sweet peppers) for 10–15 minutes and then grill them on a medium hot outdoor grill or in a grill pan, about 2–3 minutes per side. You should be able to see some grill marks without overcooking the veggies (see notes).

Add water to a pot, salt it and bring it to boil. Cook orzo according to directions on the package.

While water is boiling to cook the orzo, set a heavy-bottomed (or nonstick) wide skillet on medium heat. Add butter or olive oil along with 2 sprigs fresh thyme. Once butter is melted, add garlic and wait for a few seconds. Add corn kernels and stir them around. Wait for 2–3 minutes until some of the kernels have brown spots on them.

Add cherry tomatoes and turn heat up to medium high. Toss around tomatoes in butter, garlic and thyme (and corn) concoction. Wait for tomatoes to blister and pop, about 5–6 minutes. (Your orzo might be close to getting done by now.)

Once most of the tomatoes have popped, add sliced onions and cook for another minute or two. Add grilled vegetables and mix everything together. Turn heat to high and add red wine vinegar. Mix.

While veggies are mingling with the vinegar (turn the heat back to medium), take a cup of pasta cooking water out of the pot and set aside. Drain cooked orzo. Add drained orzo to the skillet with veggies. Add all the chopped herbs, seasoning and salt and pepper.

Mix everything together and add about 1/4 cup of reserved pasta water to create a sauce. Once everything is nice and hot and mixed together, give it a taste check to make sure it is seasoned well.

Finish pasta with some crumbled feta and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve hot, warm or even cold. Enjoy!

Notes:
• If you do not have sweet peppers, you can also use your choice of bell pepper cut into thick sticks.
• I used store-bought Greek marinade. You can make your own by adding olive oil, garlic, red wine vinegar, a little bit of all the chopped fresh herbs that we are using in the pasta, salt, and black pepper.
• If you cannot find orzo or have any other pasta shape on hand, feel free to use that. Cook pasta according to the package directions.