We have an interesting salad for you to try. Spinach and Orzo Salad combines the tiny pasta called orzo, fresh spinach, feta cheese, onions and seasonings tossed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It's easy to make and can be served as an entree or side dish. Sounds healthy — but each serving contains 28 grams of fat.

        For this recipe, we:

        • Used a low fat (4 grams per ounce) feta and reduced the amount from 8 ounces to 6.

        • Reduced the amount of pine nuts from 3/4 cup to 6 tablespoons and toasted them to intensify their flavor.

        • Reduced the amount of olive oil from 1/2 to 1/4 cup. To compensate, we added 3 tablespoons water.

        We tried several combinations with this salad but found this adaptation worked best. Our rehab lacked the shiny appearance produced by the extra oil in the original, but the flavor was good. Although we reduced the pine nuts by half, there were still enough to reap their flavor and crunch.

        Reduced to 14 grams of fat per serving, our Spinach Orzo Salad would make a great entree for a luncheon or light summer dinner. As a side dish, serve alongside favorite grilled chicken or fish.

        Recipe Rehab tip of the week: To lower the fat content further, use fat-free feta cheese. We tried the recipe with that variety, but found the texture more chewy than the regular. If this isn't objectionable to your family, you can trim an additional 3 grams of fat per serving using the fat-free cheese.
       Karen Weber, Pat Streicher and Ellen Illig are registered dietitians at Jewish Hospital's Cholesterol Center. The Recipe Rehab Cookbook, containing 250 recipes published in the Enquirer over the last eight years, is available by mail. Send check or money order for $40 to: RR Cookbook, P.O. Box 58100, Cincinnati 45258.

       
Spinach Orzo Salad

       16 ounces uncooked orzo pasta
       10 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves, finely chopped
        1/2 red onion, finely chopped
       6 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
       2 teaspoons dried basil
        1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
        1/4 cup olive oil
        1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
       3 tablespoons water
       6 ounces crumbled reduced fat (4 grams per ounce) feta cheese

        Bring large pot lightly salted water to boil. Add orzo; boil 8-10 minutes or until al dente. Drain; rinse with cold water. Put cooked orzo into large bowl. Stir in spinach, onion, pine nuts, basil and white pepper. In small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar and water. Add to salad; toss gently. Refrigerate. Just before serving, toss in crumbled feta cheese. Makes 8 servings.

Before and after

       Values based on 1 serving (1/8 of recipe)
       Spinach Orzo Salad...Adapted
       Calories ...507 ...... 375
       Fat ....... 28 g .... 14 g
       Carbohydrate ..50 g ... 49 g
       Sodium .......353 mg ... 317 mg
       Cholesterol ..25 mg ... 0 mg
       Fiber ........3 g ..... 3 g
       Calories from fat ....49% ...... 34%

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