Tracey Bennett - aka The Reckless Foodie - brings us this Nutty Brown Rice Salad.
Tracey Bennett aka "The Reckless Foodie" is a plant-based wholefood chef who, together with her husband Jason Shon Bennett, runs wellness and fasting retreats. Tracey shares this delightful, healthy salad recipe with us.
I find it really great to have a repertoire of salads that I can throw together and have in the fridge for an easy lunch on a bed of greens or to take to a BBQ or shared dinner. I have been looking for a tasty brown rice salad and after a bit of research and much trial and error, I have come up with this scrumptious one. The dressing gives it a good ginger zing!
Method. Rinse the rice in a sieve under cold running water to get rid of some of the starch, then place in a pan with a pinch of sea salt and cover with 400ml of water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed and the rice is fully cooked.
Pour the boiling water over, add some salt and bring back to boil.Stir once, place the lid on and simmer the rice gently for 40 - 45 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed (tilt the pan slightly to check if there's any water left).
While plain rice is fine, it's better to build some flavors early on. We love sauteeing some onions or leeks in butter with some thyme before adding rice to the pot, but you should use what you have around! Ginger and garlic both make for exceptional brown rice.
Sautee some onions, garlic, and leafy greens like spinach in butter in the pot for a couple minutes. Then boil water and cook as usual. The rice will absorb the nutrients lost from boiling and it will be much more flavorful. Fluff and add a little more butter at the end salt and pepper to taste.
Soaking is optional, but we recommend it! Soaking grains helps to remove some of the naturally-occurring phytic acid in the grain, which helps improve digestibility and speed cook time. To soak: Add rice to a large mixing bowl or pot and cover with twice the amount of lukewarm water (1 cup rice + 2-3 cups water).
If they're not washed away, they will cause the rice to clump and become gummy as it cooks. Our goal is to make perfectly fluffy brown rice, so don't skip this step! I like to rinse mine in a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl until the water in the bowl runs clear.
And before you ask: Whether you choose to rinse your rice is a personal choice—some sources say you don't need to rinse brown rice at all. Our opinion: For the fluffiest brown rice possible, rinsing is the way to go.
To cook brown rice on the stovetop, a good rule of thumb is to follow a 2 to 1 ratio of water to rice; so, for 1 cup of rice, you would use 2 cups of liquid. When in doubt, check the package directions for the optimal ratio for short-, medium-, and long-grain.
Introduction: My name is Barbera Armstrong, I am a lovely, delightful, cooperative, funny, enchanting, vivacious, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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