Black Rice Salad

One last reasonably healthy recipe from me before the gluttony of Christmas descends.

Ed created this one lunch time and it is greater than the sum of its parts. The dense black rice with the asian style dressing is delicious and satisfying.

If you can add tasty leftover chicken from the day before it’s even better.

We have eaten this several times* now but this particular evening, my favourite salad ingredient, was absent. An avocado that looked glossy and perfect on the outside was actually bruised and black inside. This always makes me sad. Like receiving a perfectly wrapped Christmas present to find its contents are broken.

*The first time I photographed this in deepest December there was not a scrap of natural light available, then one of my strobes exploded in a puff of smoke and I spilled black rice across the floor. Next day I found some of said rice grains and panicked as I thought the little black things meant we’d got mice in the studio. So I have just re-photgraphed my lunch…in June!

It may take a while to track down some black rice, but if you have some and don’t quite know what to do with it, make some of this.

Black Rice Salad

200g Nerone black rice
Baby salad leaves, lambs lettuce or pea shoots work well
Chopped salad-y things: spring onions, tomatoes, avocado, cucumber, pumpkin seeds, blanched mange touts.
Maybe some slices of marinated grilled chicken or roast chicken.

Dressing

1tsp minced lemongrass
1tsp mustard
1tsp runny honey
2tblsp soy sauce
2tblsp white balsamic vinegar
1tblsp garlic olive oil
2tblsp sunflower oil
some ground white pepper
a little ground or minced ginger

Boil the rice in salted water for 40 minutes
Drain off the scary looking red water and rinse the rice grains
Mix the dressing ingredients and add 2/3 of it to the rice and leave it to soak in if you have time
Add the spring onions, tomatoes, avocado, cucumber, pumpkin seeds etc
Put some salad leaves into your bowls
Top with the rice salad and add the chicken on the side…if you fancy
Drizzle with the remaining dressing

Feel virtuous as you eat.