A delicious and light tasting orzo pasta and ham salad. Tastes even better the next day! It's a great use for leftover ham.
I made this today for "recipe group" on Allrecipes. I thought it tasted pretty good. I liked the combination of ingredients. I was surprised though at the mayonaise base. For some reason I was thinking it would be lighter, and it also had a strong mustard taste. I did use stone ground mustard for the dijon, so that may be the reason. I would only use dijon next time and 1 Tblsp. at most. I might also cut the onions back by half or more, for personal preference, as I thought the onion was a little strong. The only main change I really made was using lite mayo and sour cream, which I do in most every recipe. And, I left out the black pepper, which I also do in every recipe, because I don't like it. This is a very filling salad and would work fine as a main dish with the ham in it. I got at most 4 decent sized servings instead of the six. So, I would double if I made it again. The orzo is cooked perfect in the recipe and the salad seems adaptable to slight changes like a macaroni salad, which I liked. With a few changes in the amount of onion, mustard, and black pepper, it is a really good way to use up some leftover Easter ham. Thank you.
Read MoreMade this recipe for the *RECIPE GROUP*. I think this recipe has the potential to be a solid 5* recipe, but needs alot of changes. A few I made (left out the onions, chives, halved the black pepper, and added olives)
Read More I made this today for "recipe group" on Allrecipes. I thought it tasted pretty good. I liked the combination of ingredients. I was surprised though at the mayonaise base. For some reason I was thinking it would be lighter, and it also had a strong mustard taste. I did use stone ground mustard for the dijon, so that may be the reason. I would only use dijon next time and 1 Tblsp. at most. I might also cut the onions back by half or more, for personal preference, as I thought the onion was a little strong. The only main change I really made was using lite mayo and sour cream, which I do in most every recipe. And, I left out the black pepper, which I also do in every recipe, because I don't like it. This is a very filling salad and would work fine as a main dish with the ham in it. I got at most 4 decent sized servings instead of the six. So, I would double if I made it again. The orzo is cooked perfect in the recipe and the salad seems adaptable to slight changes like a macaroni salad, which I liked. With a few changes in the amount of onion, mustard, and black pepper, it is a really good way to use up some leftover Easter ham. Thank you.
This is good, but I found the red onion a little overpowering after a night in the fridge. I could see leaving the tomatoes out and serving this in tomato "cups" for a change. I'd probably add extra ham the next time. This is a nice way to use up that leftover ham.
I made this for the "Recipe Group" We really enjoyed it. I used finely diced red, yellow and orange bell peppers and I also added some finely diced celery. Rather than mixing in the grape tomatoes I used them more as a garnish. This would make for a great summer meal. I will be serving this at a hawaiian themed graduation party. Perfect because it can be made ahead of time. Thanks for a great recipe.
The recipe calls for 2/3 cup of uncooked Orzo (Organic Durum Wheat Semolina-enriched macaroni product) which will yield about 1 3/4 cups when cooked. I did not add all of the black pepper and used garlic salt instead of plain salt. I also added celery seeds and sprinkled the top with paprika. I used the tomatoes as a garnish as some of the family are not fond of them. This salad would also be good with grilled chicken instead of ham.
Made for Recipe Group. I did use red instead of green bell peppers and Vidalia onion instead of red. The onion almost overpowered this for me. Good flavor from the sauce, seemed to need a little something, I'm not sure what. All in all, a nice pasta salad that is something different. Thanks for the recipe!
Made this recipe for the *RECIPE GROUP*. I think this recipe has the potential to be a solid 5* recipe, but needs alot of changes. A few I made (left out the onions, chives, halved the black pepper, and added olives)
I made this for recipe group as well - - - giving 3 stars as I'm not quite sure what to think of it. Not that's a bad thing - it's just different. Using two types of mustard is a nice idea, but with the quantities of both, it's a little over powering. The amount of red onion in the salad is strong as well. I'm going to let it sit for a while and then serve tonight on a bed of lettuce. Will come back and re-rate then. UPDATE: Texture and taste does change after letting it sit. For some reason, I felt as though I was eating a cold ham sandwich - weird, I know. So sorry - just not for us.
Made this for Recipe Group and thought that it was very good! I didn't have fresh chives, so I had to use dried, and vidalia onion in place of the red onion. I had some plum tomatoes that needed used, so I seeded them and chopped them up instead of the grape tomatoes. I thought the flavors were very nice in this without being too overpowering of any one ingredient and I loved thet I was able to use my leftover easter ham in a new and yummy way! Thanks for sharing. :)
Made for Recipe Group. This salad takes on different flavors as it sits. I made it yesterday for a function today, not adding the tomatoes in until this morning. At first it was overpoweringly oniony. A couple hours later, overpoweringly black peppery. Today....just perfect. Truly amazing-love it!!
Made this for Recipe Group: 23, April '11. We have never had orzo, so I was excited to try this. It has good flavor, and the longer it sits the flavors meld even better. We think it needs a few more spices - just seems like it is missing something. I will make this again and it will be nice for a different summer salad.
Made for Recipe Group. I did use red instead of green bell peppers and Vidalia onion instead of red. The onion almost overpowered this for me. Good flavor from the sauce, seemed to need a little something, I'm not sure what. All in all, a nice pasta salad that is something different. Thanks for the recipe!
Eyeballed the recipe and knew immediately that for our taste buds, one cup of onion would be way too much in proportion to the other ingredients. Used 1/2 cup, and could have scaled back even more. Also scaled back on the mustard and the pepper. Overall, even with those changes I knew I had to make to make it palatable for us, I would not make again. But, as always, thanks to the contributor.
I loved this. I made it very close to how it's written. I used whole wheat orzo, and I used a packet of Equal for the sugar. I accidentally used about double for the cider vinegar due to carelessness and I was really worried that I ruined it but it did not taste too vinegary at all - phew! (ya I know you're not supposed to measure over the bowl, I was in a hurry!!) We'll have this again!
I made this salad last night to use up leftover ham. This was awesome! Everyone, even my 12 yo to my 83 yo MIL, raved over how good it was. There were a couple things I changed, only for my family's taste or my pantry inventory. I put the tomatoes on the plate instead of within the salad, as my 12 yo won't eat them. I always have vidalia onions so I used one instead of the red onion. I used an orange pepper instead of green because I don't use green peppers, they don't "agree" with any of us. After my 12 yo second helping she "gave it the thumbs up" which means it's great. I'm sure she thought the orange pepper was carrot. Only after dinner did I tell her it was peppers. I think I can check off one more veggie she will now eat because of using it in the recipe. Oh, I didn't have any chives, which I will add next time. Otherwise, the recipe was made as stated. This will become a staple recipe for us and I may use this when hosting book club. Thanks for sharing!
Very yummy, but way too much onion!! Next time I will cut back and maybe add some more ham.
Its never really fair to change up a recipe and then rate it. But I took into consideration what others have said and what I did have and didn't have in the kitchen. I cut the onions in half, doubled the ham, didn't have green peppers so I added celery for some crunch. All in all....excellent!
Never responded to a rating before but this was an awesome ham salad. Liked it better than Easter dinner. The dressing made it packed with flavor and who doesn't like past.a Got this one saved under my favorites.
i used 1/2 cup of red onion and it was great. wasn't sure if i would like it, but i think it's going to be a new favorite for get togethers
The salad itself was okay but the dressing.....was not liked. I was told it 'Was too mustard'y'. I only used the yellow mustard.
I used dijon mustard. Yellow mustard too yellow mustardy. I added peas, egg and green onion
I used yogurt instead of sour cream and honey mustard instead of yellow. I didn't add the sugar because I had the honey mustard. I didn't have red onion so added some finely diced turnip and a little celery. I made it the day ahead and added the tomatoes just before we ate. i think you could add any veggies you had on hand. It was an excellent way to use left over ham and had a nice flavor.
Very simple, and quick. Great for last minute gotta have somethings. I doubled the recipe.
Very simple, and quick. Great for last minute gotta have somethings. I doubled the recipe.
I had left over ham so I gave it a try. Family loved it. Only a few minor changes due to our preferences. Only used about 2 tablespoons of the red onion, used the full amount of Dijon mustard but only a heavy squirt of the yellow mustard and added celery. I will make this again, thanks for the recipe.
