**Lemon, Feta and Pea Orzo Salad - The Make-Ahead Recipe That Saves Summer**

A pasta salad that tastes even better after waiting. Orzo, creamy feta, crunchy peas, cucumber, lemon. We make it in the morning, we eat it in the evening.

The idea

Orzo - these small pasta shaped like barley grains - is the best friend of summer salads. It holds dressings without wilting, cooks in ten minutes, can be eaten cold or lukewarm, and withstands a night in the refrigerator perfectly. Unlike rice, it does not harden; unlike long pasta, it does not stick when cooling.

This version - orzo, feta, peas, cucumber, lemon - is the prototype of the make-ahead salad: prepared in advance, it is even better after a few hours of rest, when the feta has taken the dressing and the lemon has flavored the entire preparation.

The recipe (for 4)

Ingredients:

• 250 g of orzo (if not: spelt, or another small pasta type risoni)
• 200 g of fresh shelled peas (or frozen)
• 1 cucumber
• 150 g of Greek feta PDO
• 1 untreated lemon (zest + juice)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• A small bunch of dill (or mint, or parsley)
• Salt, pepper

The gesture:

1. Cook the orzo in a large volume of salted water, according to the package instructions (8 to 10 minutes in general - it should remain slightly al dente). Add the peas 2 minutes before the end. Drain, briefly rinse with cold water to stop cooking.
2. Pour into a large dish, drizzle with a thread of oil to prevent sticking.
3. Cut the cucumber into small dice (with the skin if it is thin), crumble the feta by hand - not with a knife, it must keep its irregularities.
4. Prepare the vinaigrette: the juice of the lemon, the finely grated zest, the olive oil, salt, pepper. Whisk.
5. Mix orzo, peas, cucumber, feta, vinaigrette. Finish with the chopped dill.
6. Let rest for at least 30 minutes in the fridge before serving. Keeps 2 days in the refrigerator.

Seasonal variations

• End of summer: replace the peas with blanched green beans, add cherry tomatoes cut in half.
• Light autumn: peas + roasted butternut squash in dice, feta replaced with fresh goat cheese.
• Marine version: add sliced smoked salmon at the time of serving.

A word about feta

A real Greek feta PDO makes all the difference - the one made from sheep's milk (sometimes mixed with goat's milk) is creamy, frank, a bit salty. The blocks sold "Greek style" based on cow's milk are much blander. For a recipe where feta is the heart of the dish, it's a modest investment that shows.

No vegetarian dogma here: a salad that celebrates the simplicity of a green vegetable, a frank cheese, and a ripe lemon. Nothing more, nothing less.