Kitchen Sink Rice Salad

Why am I calling this recipe "Kitchen Sink Rice Salad"? Because it is so easy to make and I put everything I have in the kitchen into the recipe with the exception of the kitchen sink.

Rice salad is a popular dish in Italy. It starts to show up around spring time here in Torino when spring peas and super fresh and tender veggies pop up at the market. I had a friend over for lunch yesterday and decided to clean out the fridge and make something very tasty at the same time. Rice salad was a natural choice.

Rice Salad
(this amount serves 4 as a side dish)

1 C. uncooked arborio/carnaroli rice

To cook the rice:

Cook rice with 1.5 C. water and pinch of salt until al dente and not mushy, leave the lid off during the cooking so the rice does not absorb too much water. You can whole intact grains of rice so don't stir too much. When the rice is done let cool. Alternatively, you can saute rice in a bit of olive oil before cooking.

Assembly of the salad:

Note: All these ingredients are merely suggestions

Add the following ingredients to the cooled rice:

1 T. chopped capers
2 T. chopped olives, green or black or both
1/2 C. fresh/frozen peas and carrots, both blanched and cooled
1/2-1 C. cubed ham, turkey or mortadella
1/2 C. or more, quartered cherry tomatoes
1/4 C. diced cucumber or fennel
1/4 C. diced red or white onion
2-4 T. chopped herbs, dill, parsley, mint or combinations of all
1/2 C. cubed hard cheese, such as Swiss, Provolone, Parmigiano, or a combination
hard boiled egg is a common garnish

Combine all of the ingredients and dress with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Serve room temp. or chilled a bit.



I can eat mounds of this salad.


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