Orzo Salad with Currants, Olives and Pine Nuts

Another great recipe from Kristin

I've received a few requests for the orzo pasta salad I made for last night's concert on the square. I found the recipe in an issue of Real Food (Summer 2007), a quarterly magazine produced by Minnesota-based gourmet grocer, Lund and Byerly's. The salad was awesome, and made great leftovers for today's lunch. Many ingredients, but worth the effort. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups orzo pasta
2 cloves garlic
½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley sprigs
½ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. curry powder
½ tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2/3 cup currants
½ cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
Garnish: parsley sprigs (optional)

Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain, then rinse with cold water and drain again. Transfer to a large bowl. To make dressing, add garlic and salt to the bowl of a food processor and process until garlic is minced and a paste forms. Add parsley and process well. Add lemon juice, vinegar, sugar, curry powder, cumin, and pepper; process for 30 seconds. Pour oil in a slow steady stream through food chute with processor running.

Drizzle dressing over pasta. Add onion, currants, olives, and pine nuts; toss well. Cover and chill at least 2 hours. Garnish with parsley, if desired.