Chicken Orzo Salad — Rosetta’s Recovery Week Table

Recovery week after the fundraiser. Rosetta's kitchen. Grilled chicken, steamed vegetables, the pasta salad. I submit to the recovery the way I submit to the cortisone shot: reluctantly, knowing it's necessary, grateful for the woman who makes me do the things I won't do for myself.

This week I got a letter — an actual letter, hand-delivered by a colleague, not through the mail — from Kesha Williams, the scholarship recipient. She wrote to thank me for the scholarship, and she told me about her mother, who has sickle cell too, and her grandmother, who died of it in 1994, and the way the disease has shaped her family the way it shaped mine: with loss, with fear, with the determination to fight back. She said, "Mr. Johnson, your daughter's name is on my scholarship and I will carry it with honor." I read the letter twice. I cried both times.

Rosetta found me at the kitchen table with the letter and the tears and she sat down and read it and cried too, and we sat at the table together, two parents whose grief had traveled through fire and smoke and fundraisers and arrived, eight years later, at a letter from a nineteen-year-old girl who is going to nursing school because their daughter's name is on a piece of paper, and the paper means something, and the meaning means everything.

I called Mama and read her the letter. She was having a clear day and she listened with the attention of a woman who understands the weight of names. When I finished, she said, "Denise is still doing good in the world." I said, "Yes, Mama." She said, "That's all a parent can ask — that their child's name keeps doing good after they're gone." I said, "That's what we're doing, Mama." She said, "I know, baby. I know."

Rosetta’s pasta salad is the centerpiece of every recovery week, and this chicken orzo salad is the closest I can give you to what she sets on that kitchen table — the same table where we sat with Kesha’s letter and let the tears come. It’s light enough that your body can rest while it eats, substantial enough that you actually feel fed, and simple enough that making it feels like an act of care rather than a chore. After the fundraiser, after the letter, after the phone call with Mama, this is what recovery tastes like in our house.

Chicken Orzo Salad

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1/4 cup for dressing
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 1/2 cups orzo pasta
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 English cucumber, diced
• 1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
• 1/2 cup Kalamata olives, halved
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Instructions

1. Season the chicken. Pat the chicken breasts dry and rub with 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.
2. Grill the chicken. Preheat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken for 6 to 7 minutes per side, until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Let rest for 5 minutes, then dice into bite-sized pieces.
3. Cook the orzo. While the chicken grills, cook the orzo in salted boiling water according to package directions until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop cooking. Transfer to a large bowl.
4. Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, and minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Assemble the salad. Add the diced chicken, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, olives, and parsley to the orzo. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine.
6. Finish and serve. Top with crumbled feta cheese. Serve immediately at room temperature, or refrigerate for at least 1 hour to let the flavors meld. The salad keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 420 | Protein: 32g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 38g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 480mg