Antipasti orzo salad

Step 1

Cook the orzo in salted boiling water according to the packet instructions. You don’t want al dente pasta for this dish: it should be thoroughly cooked, with no firm core. If necessary, cook for a minute or two more.

Step 2

Meanwhile, chop the sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes and peppers into roughly 1cm/½in pieces and add to a large serving bowl.

Step 3

Roughly chop the olives and capers and add to the bowl, along with the chickpeas and Parmesan.

Step 4

Add 4 tablespoons of oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes or artichokes. If you don’t have enough, use some extra virgin olive oil.

Step 5

Drain the orzo into a sieve and refresh under cold running water, then shake off the excess water. (If not serving immediately, cool the orzo completely.)

Step 6

Add the pasta to the serving bowl and stir to combine, adding a little more oil if you like.

Step 7

Just before serving, stir through the parsley.