Recipe Redux December 2016 Theme: Grab a Book & Cook

We’re playing a little party game at the end of 2016: Grab your nearest cookbook and ReDux the recipe on page 201, 16, 216 – or any combination of the number ‘2016.’ (Of course, please don’t forget to credit the original recipe and change enough of the recipe to make it your very own.)

I decided to pick a newer cookbooks from one of my favorite dietitian bloggers: Fresh Italian Cookbook for the New Generation. Alex runs one of my favorite vegetarian food blogs- Delicious Knowledge. She has inspiring and interesting recipes plus beautiful photography so when her cookbook came out earlier this year it was a no brainer to purchase! Page 16 featured a recipe for Mediterranean Zucchini Linguine so I decided I would take a spin on it since it used some of my favorite ingredients. My love for Mediterranean and Greek style food can be witnessed by this chicken, this salad, these burgers, and this tabbouleh.

So I set to work to redux it up a bit… starting with eliminating the zucchini since it’s December. I replaced with orzo but you could use any type of noodle. Keeping with making the dish more seasonable I replaced the cherry tomatoes with sun-dried tomatoes. I used a jarred pesto which was super flavorful so I omitted the garlic and red pepper flakes but you could definitely add them in for something extra. I made this salad for a holiday party this past weekend and it was the perfect healthy but fresh compliment to the other dishes. Plus the red and green theme makes it extra holiday friendly- perfect for any upcoming celebrations for this season! orzo pasta salad