Jamie Oliver's Rice Salad Recipe

Jamie Oliver's Rice Salad

1278

Serves

Prepacked rice salad, like potato salad and coleslaw, is really popular but largely miserable and bland. Have a go at this recipe and you won't go back to buying tubs from the supermarket.

Ingredients

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
250 g mixed long grain and wild rice
A few sprigs of fresh basil
A few sprigs of fresh mint
A few sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley
200 g roasted red peppers , from a jar
1 fresh red chili
1 lemon
4 tbsp (60 mL) lemon dressing , please see below

Instructions

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the rice and cook it according to the packet instructions. Once cooked, drain the rice in a sieve and spread it out on a tray to help it cool down quickly. Meanwhile, pick all the herb leaves off the stalks. Finely chop the peppers. Halve, deseed and finely chop your chilli. Make your lemon dressing. Put your cooled rice into a big serving bowl. Finely chop your herb leaves and add them to the bowl, together with the peppers and chilli. Zest over your lemon, add the dressing and mix well. Taste, add salt and pepper if you think it needs it, and serve.

Feel free to play with different rice grains—they have a variety of tastes, colours and textures, which can be a bonus in a rice salad, so have a look around when you’re shopping.

The big thing to remember, though, is to use good olive oil, a touch of lemon juice, and to get some spice and sweetness into the salad with chilli and roasted red peppers (you can use sun-dried tomatoes if you don’t have any peppers). You’ll have a salad that looks and tastes great.

Best eaten at room temperature rather than straight from the fridge.

Salad Dressing

Put 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil into a jam jar with a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Squeeze in the juice of 1 lemon. Put the lid on the jar and shake well.

Editors Note: This recipe has not been tested by the Chatelaine Test Kitchen.