Orzo Salad with Mandarin Oranges

All right, I'll admit it, I'm using the term "salad" here very loosely. In reality this dish is a light and refreshing dessert that is perfect for spring and summer. After all, nothing can possibly use twelve ounces of whipped cream and still be served in the salad course. Or for that matter, served as a side dish for the main course (as it was for our meal).

During our meal planning this week, I was looking for a nice light side dish to go with a smoked porchetta (details coming soon!) that had caught our eye on another food blog.  In a moment of what appeared to be inspiration, my husband told me "Oh, my mother used to make a great orzo salad! We should find something like that!". Now, my husband does not often eat salad willingly, so that should have been my first red flag. Not realizing his true intent I agreed, and we set to finding a recipe. Most of the ingredients sounded perfect: Mandarin oranges, pineapple, pasta...delicious! However I was slightly suspicious when the recipe also included whipped cream. "Surely it couldn't actually be a dessert, could it?", I thought cautiously. Not wanting to disappoint him, I created this wonderful dish in hopes that it would work anyway. At first taste, I was hooked on the combination of the fruity filling mixed with the starchy orzo. It actually reminds me of the tapioca salad my grandma loved from the grocery in Decatur, Indiana. Unabashedly, I threw it on the table with the meal and declared it a salad. We're adults now! We can call our dessert anything we want!

Orzo Salad with Mandarin Oranges
Yield: about 12 servings
Ingredients:
1/2 box orzo pasta
20 ounce can crushed pineapple (in juice)
2 small cans mandarin oranges (in juice or light syrup)
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
12 ounce container of whipped cream topping
Maraschino cherries for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Cook the orzo until tender, around 10 minutes. Drain and rinse the orzo under cold tap water and set aside. Drain the fruit and reserve all of the juices. In a separate bowl, beat together the egg, sugar, and flour, and then add the fruit juices. Cook slowly in a saucepan over medium-low heat stirring frequently until thickened. It will have the consistency of a thin custard. Pour the mixture over the orzo, mix evenly, and let stand overnight.

The next day, mix together the orzo with the saved fruit and whipped cream topping. Garnish with cherries if desired (Not pictured, as my husband hates maraschino cherries).

Adapted from Cooks.com