MEDITERRANEAN BLACK RICE SALAD
Hot summer weather invites you to eat more salad, often with as little cooking as possible and that is perfectly understandable. I say, we should take this as an opportunity to experiment with fresher and healthier ingredients that are still filling and nutritious (so that you don’t eat every 2 hours because you’re starving!)
In Italy for example, risotto consumption drops during summer but not rice consumption as we still have it but as part of our beloves rice salads array.
I personally love the wholegrain Nero rice in salads, it has a great texture and a robust flavour that allows you to mix it with pretty much everything, from seafood to vegetables and pickles.
For this recipe, I took inspiration from many Mediterranean cultures to create a vegan rice salad that is packed full of flavour and substance, with chickpeas, spices, veggies, nuts and seeds. It is the perfect one-dish meal for the summer.
You can find the wholegrain Nero black rice from sustainable agriculture by Riso Gallo in Ocado and Waitrose. Don’t skip it.
Serves: 4 // Prep time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
320 gr of Nero rice by Riso Gallo
400 gr of tinned chickpeas
4 tsp of ground cumin
1 tsp of curry powder
1 tbsp of tahini paste
3 garlic cloves
1 cucumber
150 gr of red radishes
1 pomegranate, the seeds removed and skin discarded
20 gr of chopped shelled pistachios
20 gr of mix toasted seeds
4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
1 lemon, juice and zest
Fresh herbs (like mint, dill or basil), roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Start by cooking the rice in salted boiling water for about 18/20 minutes accordingly to your liking. Then drain and let it steam until cooled to room temperature.
Now prepare the chickpeas and the chickpea purée.
Blend half of the chickpeas with their water, a drizzle of oil, 1 garlic clove, the juice of half a lemon and season with salt, tahini, 1 tsp of curry and 2 tsp of ground cumin. Blend until smooth and keep aside.
Drain the remaining chickpeas and sauté them in a pan with the remaining garlic and a drizzle of oil. Season with salt and cumin and pan fry on high heat until coloured. Remove the chickpeas and in the same pan roast the radishes sliced in quarters. Season with salt and pepper and cook until golden for about 3-4 minutes then set aside.
Peel the cucumber and slice in half lengthwise. Optionally, charr it with a kitchen blowtorch then slice it into segments. Now dress the cold rice with the chopped herbs, salt, the juice of half a lemon and mix well. You now have all the elements to plate.
Spread a spoonful of chickpea puree on the bottom of the plate, then add the rice. Top with everything else in layers, the chickpeas, radishes, cucumber, pomegranate seeds, nuts, seeds, lemon zest, a drizzle of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and garnish with more fresh herbs.