Successful Wine Tasting Open House | Delicious Orzo Chicken Salad Recipe

Once again, Three Feathers Wine Tasting Open House on May 30th of Memorial Weekend was blessed with a fabulous day in every respect.

The weather was warm and sunny. Our guests arrived prepared to spend the day in the gardens and vineyard. One brave group even spent a few hours in our “Witches Cove” tree house.

Everyone enjoyed the comforts of home, a generous buffet, delicious wines and the company of friends and new acquaintances. There is something about the atmosphere that encourages a feeling of bonhomie, as if one is at a party.

Thanks again to our new Flight Club members for signing up – we’ll do this again in the fall!

Orzo Chicken Salad, by Cynthia Stimac

By popular request, we are posting this delicious summer salad recipe online which was served at this event. Light and refreshing, it is easy to pair with our fresh and nuanced Pinot Gris or our 2018 Cuvée Virginia Pinot Noir. This salad will grace any summer table and is excellent for picnics or potluck events.

There are several ways to alter this recipe. Normally, I do not have all of the ingredients, so I just use what I have in the refrigerator. You may also want to vary the quantities of some of the ingredients to your taste. I use my own vinaigrette to dress the salad and I have listed some ingredients for that. The dressing gets better with age. To make this salad gluten-free, you can substitute quinoa for the orzo.

Serves 6 people

Salad ingredients:

• 1 – 2 chicken breasts, marinated in:
  1. juice of 2 lemons
  2. olive oil
  3. red wine vinegar
  4. fresh rosemary
  5. salt & pepper
• 2 cups of orzo pasta
• 3/4 – 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 – 4 slices of prosciutto, cut into 1/2 inch strips
• 4 – 5 artichoke hearts, quartered into wedges (if canned, prefer in water to oil)
• 3 – 4 scallions, minced
• 1/2 cup minced cilantro or parsley
• 1/2 cup walnuts, hazelnuts or pine nuts, roughly chopped

Vinaigrette:

• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar
• lemon juice
• mustard with seeds in it
• salt & pepper
• poppy seeds
• dried oregano
• dried sage
• dried basil
• garlic (peeled and cut in half)

Preparation:

Marinate the whole chicken breasts for 2 hours.

Preheat your broiler for 1/2 hour. Broil the marinated chicken breasts until cooked through, about 5 – 10 minutes on each side. If you need to, de-bone and remove the skin after cooking. Then cut the chicken into chunks.

Note : My broiler makes a huge mess when I do this because the oil spits and flames up, so be very careful. You can also cook the chicken on the barbecue if you like. Recently, I’ve had really good results by just baking the chicken breasts in the oven for 45 minutes on 350 degrees. This works better if the skin and bones are intact.

Bring water to boil in a 3 quart saucepan. Put the orzo in the water and boil until the ends are white and the centers are still a little raw. This only takes a few minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse briefly with cold water to stop the pasta from cooking. The pasta can be a little warm.

Finely chop the walnuts and finely grate the Parmesan cheese. Add these ingredients to the orzo and mix well.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix. Add the vinaigrette salad dressing to taste.

This delightfully light salad pairs well with our Three Feathers whites – 2020 Pinot Gris or 2018 Blanc de Noirs, as well as our lighter single-clone reds – 2016 or 2019 Pinot Noir. Crack open a bottle and Enjoy!