Rice Salad

[Darienne]

OK. I searched under +rice +salad, posts, topics found 42 pages. Help!

Does anyone have a rice salad that they like? With not too many esoteric ingredients and for vegetarians. DH made a huge pot of rice for lunch. He likes roasted Ratatouille on rice. I just love roasted Ratatouille.

So now I have about 8 cups of cooked Jasmine rice and I could really use a delicious recipe. It will be added to the coming Dog Weekend's fare.

(Sorry, I don't really like rice salads, but then I had never tasted a bean salad like Randi's bean salad, so perhaps somewhere out there there may be an equally scrumptious rice salad.)

Thanks.

[teagal]

Susan Branch had a recipe on her website a while back for 'happy rice'.

It had diced pears, nuts and raisins in it and was really good. Can't

remember what else. Maybe you could google it and see if u can find it.

[Maison Rustique]

Gypsy Deb’s Rice Salad

3 c. cooked Brown Basmati Rice (chilled or room temperature)

¼ c. chopped lightly toasted pecans

¼ c. currants

¼ c. diced celery

¼ c. chopped parsley

¼ c. chopped green onions

1/3 c. tamari sauce (regular soy sauce can be used)

1/3 c. olive oil

fresh ground pepper to taste

lettuce leaves

Combine tamari sauce, olive oil and pepper in small jar with a tightly-fitted lid. Shake well to combine. Set aside. Combine all other ingredients, add tamari/oil dressing and toss well. Serve chilled or at room temperature on a bed of lettuce. Serves 8 as a side dish or 4 as a vegetarian main course.

[snowangel]

My Black Bean and Rice salad is fantastic. Sits well on a table, and is vegan to boot!

[Darienne]

Susan Branch had a recipe on her website a while back for 'happy rice'.

It had diced pears, nuts and raisins in it and was really good.  Can't

remember what else.  Maybe you could google it and see if u can find it.

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Much searching later...it's no longer on her website as far as I can see and it's not on google either. Thanks for trying.

[Darienne]

Gypsy Deb’s Rice Salad

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Sounds like a possibility. Thanks.

[Darienne]

My Black Bean and Rice salad is fantastic.  Sits well on a table, and is vegan to boot!

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Had already found your excellent recipe, but wanted something without the 'bean' factor, seeing as I have already made this mammoth bean salad. Thanks for the help.

[weinoo]

I think one of the keys to a good rice salad is preparing the rice specifically for the rice salad, as opposed to using leftover rice prepared by the classic absorption method. As well as the type of rice used.

So, for rice salad, I like to prepare rice via the pasta method. That is, in lots of boiling water, till just al dente. Then, rinsed. Then, used for the salad.

[Katie Meadow]

I make rice salads frequently, often with leftover ingredients such as salmon, tuna or chicken. I agree that the rice should be freshly made for the salad. I like my rice salads room temp or slightly warm, so I usually make my rice an hour or two before assembling the salad. Rice that's leftover in the fridge is dry. I generally use white basmatti rice, but that's what I always have on hand.

I make a tuna rice salad with either fresh cooked fish or canned. I like to add slivers of roasted red peppers, toasted pine nuts, maybe capers, parlsey, celery and red onion, with a dressing of sherry wine vinegar and olive oil. Sometimes I add a little saffron to the dressing. Then maybe a dusting of smoked Spanish paprika.

For a chicken and rice salad I like to add fresh barely cooked shelling peas along with the usual suspects, or shelled edamame. I use either leftover grilled chicken, or just poach some chicken. I've made ham and rice salad too when I've cooked ham shanks for broth and don't know what else to do with all the extra cooked meat. For chicken or ham rice salads I usually make a dressing with dijon and white wine vinegar and olive oil.

The flexibility with rice salads is great. Minced radishes, kohlrabi, fennel instead of celery, whatever. Easy to make vegetarian. Fresh corn, fried okra and diced tomato makes a nice rice salad too.

[jgm]

I make this one a lot, after first tasting it at a baby shower.

Corn and Rice Salad

1 16-ounce can whole kernel corn, drained

2 cups cooked rice

¼ cup chopped sweet red or green pepper

¼ cup sliced green onion

¼ cup chopped ripe olives

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons white or red wine vinegar (I use red)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons snipped parsley or 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

½ teaspoon Dijon-style mustard

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

8 cherry or grape tomatoes, whole or halved as appropriate for size

1 tablespoon finely shredded Parmesan cheese

In a medium bowl combine corn, rice, pepper, onion, and olives. In a screw-top jar combine oil, vinegar, soy sauce, parsley, mustard, and garlic powder. Shake to mix; pour over corn mixture. Cover and chill several hours or overnight. To serve, stir in tomatoes. Top with Parmesan cheese.

Let salad stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving. 8 servings.

[Darienne]

I make this one a lot, after first tasting it at a baby shower. 

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Thank you jgm. It sounds pretty good.

You know, it just hit me. All the salads I am planning to make or have made are in a certain mode, vegetable and dressing with vinegar/ lemon juice/ etc.

Does anyone have a rice salad that incorporates fruit in some way? Little orange pieces, walnuts, sweeter dressing (but not too sweet)? Thanks.

[weinoo]

Dried fruits work nicely in a rice salad. Think raisins, diced apricots, cranberries, cherries, etc.

[nikkib]

http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/512683

i make this quite a bit - similar sort of ingredients to the ratatouille so might be a good match

[jaynesb]

You can make fried rice out of it if it's still sitting in your refrigerator. I know, not a rice salad but still a wonderful use for leftover rice!

jayne

[Toliver]

I've had a nice rice salad with sliced/diced up artichoke hearts but I have no clue how it was made. It was quite good. Does anyone have a recipe for something similar?

[mizducky]

Okay--I realize this one is technically not a salad, but you were asking for sweeter rice dishes, so ... I adore this Thai black sticky rice pudding recipe. It's gotten raves whenever I've served it. Because of the distinctive nutty flavor of the black sticky rice and the light hand with the sugar, this recipe is only mildly sweet. I follow the first method in the recipe that gives a firmer drier texture, as opposed to the wetter, more "pudding-like" texture of the second method. Black sticky rice can be a little hard to find, but it's worth it--larger Asian grocery stores should carry it.

[jgm]

I've had a nice rice salad with sliced/diced up artichoke hearts but I have no clue how it was made. It was quite good. Does anyone have a recipe for something similar?

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If you Google "artichoke and rice salad", several interesting possibilities come up. Unfortunately, some of them call for a box of Rice-a-Roni, but I trust what you had was not one of those.

If you run across one that sounds like what you had, please post it!

[judiu]

I make this one a lot, after first tasting it at a baby shower. 

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Thank you jgm. It sounds pretty good.

You know, it just hit me. All the salads I am planning to make or have made are in a certain mode, vegetable and dressing with vinegar/ lemon juice/ etc.

Does anyone have a rice salad that incorporates fruit in some way? Little orange pieces, walnuts, sweeter dressing (but not too sweet)? Thanks.

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Try a recipe for rice pudding with dried fruits, but moderate the pudding into a lighter, not so sweet dressing. I might even try this with a dollop of Marzetti's cole slaw dressing and a few celery seeds... HTH!

[Darienne]

Try a recipe for rice pudding with dried fruits, but moderate the pudding into a lighter, not so sweet dressing. I might even try this with a dollop of Marzetti's cole slaw dressing and a few celery seeds... HTH!

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Thank you judiu,

Learned a few things. HTH means hope this helps. Found a Marzetti's cole slaw copycat recipe...never heard of Marzetti. (live in deepest, coldest Canada).

Sounds like a plan.

[Bella S.F.]

Joyce Goldstein has a recipe for Curried Rice Salad in her book, Back To Square One, that is really wonderful. We have taken it to potlucks and it always disappears right away. If you are taking it somewhere, or just making it ahead of time, do not put the cashews and the greenonions/scallions in until you are going to serve it.

I added chicken a couple of times when I wanted it to be more of a main course, but it can also be eaten as a main course without it. I can't think about that recipe without wanting to eat it right now.

[CaliPoutine]

Cook's Illustrated has some rice salads on their site. Its for members only, but if any of these interest you, let me know as I'm a member and can PM them to you.

Curried Rice Salad with Cauliflower, Mango, and Cashews

Rice Salad with Oranges, Olives, and Almonds

Rice Salad with Pineapple, Jicama, and Pumpkin Seeds

Rice Salad with Cherry Tomatoes, Parmesan, Peas, and Ham

PS: I've seen Marzetti in London, ON

[deltadoc]

My favorite rice salad isn't really made with rice, its made with grass seed. I figured this out from Jean Claude Tindillier, Le Petit Chef in Wayzata, MN. Now retired to France. I ate it so often I figured out how to make it myself purely out of desperation.

Wild Rice Salad

Boil Wild Rice in slightly salted water until it "blossoms" (bursts open).

Rinse, drain and cool.

Add:

Halved Sliced Black Olives

Whole brined Green Peppercorns (drained)

Golden Raisins

Sliced Almonds

Chopped Fresh Tarragon

1-2 TBSP Dijon Mustard

S&P

Chopped fresh tomato

Red Wine Vinaigrette

Proportions are to individual taste and appearance. Careful on the green peppercorns, they're supposed to be like little island surprises of spicy taste sensations.

I'm tellin' ya, this stuff is addictive!

doc

Edited August 21, 2009 by deltadoc (log)

[Emily_R]

My favorite is a combination of basmati rice, roasted corn, fresh basil, red onion, pecans, and diced jack cheese, with a simple vinaigrette.

[Darienne]

Wild Rice Salad

Boil Wild Rice in slightly salted water until it "blossoms" (bursts open).

Rinse, drain and cool.

Add:

Halved Sliced Black Olives

Whole brined Green Peppercorns (drained)

Golden Raisins

Sliced Almonds

Chopped Fresh Tarragon

1-2 TBSP Dijon Mustard

S&P

Chopped fresh tomato

Red Wine Vinaigrette

Proportions are to individual taste and appearance.  Careful on the green peppercorns, they're supposed to be like little island surprises of spicy taste sensations.

I'm tellin' ya, this stuff is addictive!

doc

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Sounds fabulous!!!

[Darienne]

My favorite is a combination of basmati rice, roasted corn, fresh basil, red onion, pecans, and diced jack cheese, with a simple vinaigrette.

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Anything that combine all those ingredients has got to be excellent. Thanks.