Chickpea Orzo Salad With Harissa-Roasted Eggplant Recipe (2024)

I made a couple of changes out of necessity, might tweak a bit more next time. I exchanged the fresh mozza for seared Halloumi cubes - we just like Halloumi much better - great sub. I roasted the eggplant - DELICIOUS - but not the peppers; kept them raw and chopped them (just prefer them raw). We have a walnut allergy, so I used pistachios (delicious!) Use dried/cooked chickpeas if you can! Next time, I’ll use whole wheat orzo, or even couscous. Served with extra harissa on baby kale salad.

Hi, MC! Thanks for flagging. A system glitch cut off the last step. It should be there now.

I was surprised at how good this was. I was looking for a way to use some pre-roasted eggplant cubes I had in the fridge. I used cavatappi instead of orzo and raw halved grape tomatoes since I didn’t have any peppers. Herbs were a mix of oregano and mint. Only 1/4 lb cheese. Drained the pasta and tossed everything together with the dressing in the same pot. With 2 tbsp of Mina harissa this was quite spicy but not incendiary. The only thing I’d add is a squeeze of lemon.

This has a great taste but I didn't get as much roasted flavor as I thought from the eggplant and pepper. Might need to spread them out across two pans next time. Also, don't overcook the orzo. Easy to do and you lose all crunchy texture. Will definitely try again.

I made this with Colu Henry's Sheet-Pan Harissa Salmon with Potatoes and Citrus and just used the marinade from that dish on the eggplant cubes. Delicious and instant vegetable side!

Personally I feel this was missing a bit of acidity, so I squeezed half a lemon into some greens & added 1/2 a cup of cilantro to the eggplant orzo mix.

I love this dish and make it often enough that I’ve started putting whatever I have on hand in… halloumi instead of mozzarella, pear cous cous instead of orzo, gochujang when I’m out of harissa. It’s delicious. I always reduce pasta to 3 oz and don’t roast the peppers— just personal preference. I leave it in the fridge for an easy meal for the week.

Made D and L, Gavin and Colette. Added corn and asparagus. People loved it. OKbut not that special. Maybe too much going on

I really enjoyed this. I add a lot of Mina spicy harissa to the finished dish and I still don’t find it very spicy just flavorful (I am not someone who handles a lot of spice). Next time I would use half the orzo to make it less pasta salad with goodies and more goodie salad with pasta. Just my preference though!

I did not like this recipe. I thought it was just bland and unimpressive. I don't recommend serving over a bed of lettuce b/c I don't think the lettuce adds anything. If I made this again, I'd definitely do a good quality crumbled feta instead of mozz. I do think the toasted walnuts were the best part about this dish.

Quite bland as written (other than the spice level). I would’ve cooked the orzo in a harissa broth to incorporate more of the rich smoky flavors. I added some toum, Aleppo pepper, lemon zest, and parmesan, then served over arugula.

I have to admit that I didn't love this. I didn't have harissa so I used Sriracha instead. I definitely didn't add enough, which was my bad. If I do end up making it again I would add some acid and more spice, keep some of the peppers fresh for the crunch factor, and might use feta or another type of tangy cheese.

Absolutely loved this. I did make some tweaks. I added 4 peppers total, left 2 raw, grilled 2. I grilled the eggplant. Lastly I made a Tahini lemon dressing (1/4 cup Tahini, zest and juice 1 large lemon)

I never write comments but please hear me out. I chose this lovely recipe but all I have is a local Trader Joe’s so I had to make some substitutions I thought worked in my favor:-instead of orzo I used the orzo rice pilaf boxed stuff-instead of walnuts I used the toasted slivered almonds (and didn’t bother with the fresh herbs because of course TJs was out but also they may have clashed with the pilaf)This was phenomenal and I can’t wait to make it again.

it was hot and I didn't want to put the oven on, so I marinated the 2 sliced eggplants in the harissa/oil while I cooked the orzo. then grilled the eggplant and the red pepper on the grill. Even toasted walnuts on the grill. Combined everything as directed (using fresh oregano from garden), added marinated mozzarella balls plus a bit of the oil/spices from the marinate and served it over garden fresh spinach. It was SO good. the walnuts really add a great texture. I will make this again

My sister and I first made this recipe when we were on vacation with limited kitchen facilities. Since then, we’ve both come back to it again and again. I never sub ingredients because I think it’s delicious as written, although I may add a few extra cubes of mozzarella as a cooling balance to the harissa (or at least that’s what I’m telling myself it’s doing!)

I loved the harissa on the vegetables. Personally I would have picked perhaps a rice other than orzo and it could have benefitted from a sauce to blend everything together. All in all still good

This was surprising in its flavor and far simpler to make than it seemed at first blush. As I was putting it together, it seemed a bit hodge-podge-y, but it all somehow works. Wondering if another mild cheese might provide a bit more flavor than mozzarella. Anyhow, this will become a regular for us.

Very good. Might need to double the recipe next time, we got about four meals out of this one. I used pearled couscous instead of orzo, I liked the texture of the couscous better.

Used half the harissa; basil instead of thyme/oregano, and shredded mozzarella instead of fresh. Great recipe.