This pretty crowd-pleaser always stands out on the buffet table. With plenty of shrimp, artichoke hearts, olives, peppers and a host of herbs, it’s a tasty change of pace from pasta salads. I serve it with a from-scratch vinaigrette.
Ingredients
1 package (16 ounces) orzo pasta
3/4 pound peeled and deveined cooked shrimp (31-40 per pound)
1 can (14 ounces) water-packed quartered artichoke hearts, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup finely chopped green pepper
1 cup finely chopped sweet red pepper
3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup pitted Greek olives
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
1/3 cup chopped fresh dill
3/4 cup Greek vinaigrette
Directions
Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain; rinse with cold water and drain well.
In a large bowl, combine orzo, shrimp, vegetables, olives and herbs. Add vinaigrette; toss to coat. Refrigerate, covered, until serving.
Nutrition Facts
1-1/2 cups: 397 calories, 12g fat (2g saturated fat), 65mg cholesterol, 574mg sodium, 52g carbohydrate (4g sugars, 3g fiber), 18g protein.

Parsley is a biennial herb with green leaves and white, slender root. This herb has a pleasant and refreshing scent. In just 100 grams of parsley leaves there are about 1630 milligrams of minerals, half of which are potassium, a key mineral necessary for the health of the body. Potassium is a mineral that is great for lowering blood pressure, helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates the amount of water in the body. That’s why parsley is a natural remedy for people with high blood pressure and a weakened cardiovascular system.Parsley has a huge nutritional and significant healing effect, due to the richness of the ingredients it contains: essential oil (2.5-7% in the fruit, about 0.1% in the leaves and roots), vegetable oil rich in unsaturated fatty acids, flavonoid – apioside, mucus, sugars, a little tannins and a huge amount of different minerals (sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, zinc, iodine, fluorine), vitamins (beta carotene, vitamins E, B1, B2, B6, B12 , folic and pantothenic acid, biotin, vitamins K and C).