Orzo Salad with Grilled Broccolini and Sausage

This light main course uses cooked chicken sausages (widely available at supermarkets or big-box stores) to pull together a quick weeknight one-dish meal. Though it works with most any flavor of chicken sausage, we especially like it with a roasted red pepper and garlic sausage.

• 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbs. red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup pitted picholine olives (or other mild green olives), quartered
• 1-1/2 Tbs. capers, rinsed and chopped
• 1 large bunch (about 12 oz.) broccolini, trimmed
• 1 large red onion (12 oz.), cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• Kosher salt
• 4 cooked chicken sausages
• 8 oz. (1-1/4 cups) dried orzo
• Freshly ground black pepper

Prepare a medium gas or charcoal grill fire. In a large bowl, whisk 1/4 cup of the oil and the vinegar. Stir in the olives and capers and set aside.


Arrange the broccolini and onion on a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with the remaining 1 Tbs. oil and sprinkle with about 1 tsp. salt.


Grill the broccolini, onion, and sausages (with the lid closed), flipping halfway through cooking, until the vegetables have softened and charred slightly, 7 to 10 minutes for the broccolini and 10 to 12 minutes for the onions, and the sausages are browned and heated through, 8 to 10 minutes.


Meanwhile, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook the orzo until it’s just tender, about 8 minutes. Drain well.


Coarsely chop the broccolini and onion, and cut the sausages into bite-size pieces; stir them into the dressing. Add the orzo, toss to combine, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.