**Orzo with Roasted Corn, Zucchini, and Feta - July Picnic**

A warm or cold salad, perfect for July tables: orzo (small rice-shaped pasta), corn caramelized in the oven, golden zucchini cubes, crumbled feta. Simple, indulgent, no dogma.

A salad that tastes like summer

There are recipes that just beg to be shared - because they travel well, they withstand the warmth of an outdoor lunch, they can be nibbled with a fork or a spoon. The orzo with roasted corn and zucchini is one of them.

Orzo are these small pasta shaped like a grain of rice - the Italian equivalent of Greek kritharaki. Cooked al dente, they hold the sauce well and go with everything: roasted vegetables, herbs, fresh cheeses. Here, they are combined with what July offers in abundance: sweet corn, zucchini, garden herbs.

What you need (for 4)

• 250 g of orzo
• 2 large zucchini (firm, shiny) cut into dice
• 2 ears of fresh corn (or 250 g of kernels, if necessary)
• 150 g of sheep's milk feta
• A large handful of basil or mint (or both)
• 1 lemon (zest + juice)
• Extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper
• Optional: a little Espelette pepper, a few toasted pine nuts

The method - 25 minutes

1. Preheat the oven to 220 °C. On a baking sheet, arrange the zucchini dice, the corn kernels (scraped from the cob or thawed). Salt, pepper, drizzle with two generous tablespoons of olive oil. 20 minutes - the corn should turn golden and burst, the zucchini caramelize at the edges.

2. Meanwhile, cook the orzo in lightly salted boiling water, al dente (2 minutes less than the time indicated on the package). Drain, pour a thread of oil so it doesn't stick.

3. The mix. In a large bowl, combine orzo, still warm roasted vegetables, lemon zest, juice of half a lemon, crumbled feta, chopped herbs. Pepper, taste, adjust the salt (the feta is already salty).

4. A final thread of oil, a turn of the mill, and it's ready.

Serve - and transport

This salad is delicious warm, even better the next day at room temperature. In a glass box, it travels without complaining - picnic, beach, office.

If you prepare it in advance, keep the feta and herbs separate and add them at the last moment: the colors and aromas will remain vibrant.

Variations

• Without feta - replace with dice of ripe avocado and a handful of roasted chickpeas, or with a burrata torn at the last moment.
• Gluten-free - replace orzo with well-cooled basmati rice or quinoa.
• Rich version - add cherry tomatoes confit in the oven (30 min at 150 °C with a little sugar).
• Herbaceous version - switch to coriander and mild cumin, for a more oriental twist.

A word on pleasure

This recipe does not pretend to "do good" - it just has the virtue of being good. The corn is in season, the zucchini is in season, the basil grows on the balcony. It's a local, simple, and convivial dish - three qualities that, together, are worth all the diets in the world.

Bon appétit.