As the hot summer weather reaches its peak, we crave cooler, lighter fare with attractive colors, to pique our flagging appetites. This mixed rice salad looks beautiful on the table and its lemony fresh vinaigrette awakens the palate. I like to serve this with grilled chicken, but it’s nice as part of an array of salads, too. You might serve egg salad or chicken salad alongside this vibrant rice salad for a complete meal of grains, vegetables, and protein.
Wild Rice and Roasted Pepper Salad
Nutty wild rice with the sweetness of roasted peppers and a lemony vinaigrette make this salad perfect as a summer side dish.
Ingredients
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1/2 cup wild rice
- 1/2 cup long-grain white rice, such as basmati
- 1 lemon
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup firmly packed parsley leaves, stems removed
- 1 tbsp snipped chives
Instructions
- Roast peppers over a gas flame or under the broiler until the skin blisters. Peel, core, seed, and cut the peppers into 3/4 inch dice.
- Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in wild rice and simmer, covered, until rice is tender, about 45 minutes. Drain and cool to room temperature.
- In a separate saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. Stir in long-grain rice and simmer, covered, until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
- For the vinaigrette, grate 1/2 teaspoon zest from lemon. Squeeze 1/12 tablespoons lemon juice. Combine zest and juice with the olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
- In a large bowl, mix the wild and white rice together with the roasted peppers. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss well. (Can make salad up to this point up to 4 hours in advance. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate, or set aside at room temperature.)
- Serving: Bring salad to room temperature. Mince parsley and add to salad. Stir in chives and season with salt and pepper to taste. Makes 4-6 servings