It’s full on salad season! Time to break out the barbecue and whip up some refreshing salads because summer is here. This Tangy Vegetable Rice Salad is put together in no time at all and can be made in advance for easy dinners or entertaining.
I think any kind of rice salad deserves a spot on the summer dining or picnic table. What’s great about these salads is that you can make them in advance and just forget about them until you are ready to eat. In fact, this salad is best made in advance and then served later.
Ingredients
- Dried goods – Basmati rice
- Fresh ingredients – red pepper, Italian pepper, red onion, celery, cucumber, spring onion, arugula, alfalfa, lemon juice and parsley
- Seasonings – olive oil- vinegar, salt and pepper
REMEMBER, The full recipe and instructions can be found at the end of the post in the recipe card.
Instructions
- Cook the rice – In a medium saucepan, add the rice to 2 cups/480 ml of boiling water. Stir, reduce heat to low and cover. Leave to cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and leave to cool.
- Make the salad dressing – In a small bowl make the marinade by combing the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir and set aside.
- Combine the salad – In a large salad bowl add the peppers, red onion, celery, cucumber, 1/2 of the spring onion and cooled rice. Pour over the marinade and stir well. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
- Refrigerate and serve – Remove from refrigerator and add the fresh arugula, parsley and alfalfa. Stir and top with remaining spring onion. Will keep in the refrigerator up to two days.
Notes About This Tangy Vegetable Rice Salad
I think the celery and cucumber is probably essential. All he rest is up for grabs. I had alfalfa on hand when I made this salad so added it at the end just for a bit more flavour. Now I know that alfalfa has a pretty strong flavour that many people don’t care for too much. Don’t be put off the salad because of this, just leave it out if you don’t like it. Personally, I love it and thought it added a great touch to this salad.
Okay friends that about it for now. Get summer ready and break out the salads. Happy cooking as always!
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Tangy Vegetable & Rice Salad
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Basmati rice
- 1 Red pepper diced
- 1 Italian green peppers diced
- 1/2 Red onion diced
- 2 Celery ribs diced
- 1 Cucumber peeled and diced
- 1 Spring onion finely diced
- Handful of fresh arugula
- 1/2 Cup alfalfa
- 1/4 Cup olive oil plus 1 tablespoon
- 1/4 Cup white wine vinegar
- Juice of one lemon
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Bunch of fresh parsley finely chopped
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, add the rice to 2 cups/480 ml of boiling water. Stir, reduce heat to low and cover. Leave to cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and leave to cool.
- In a small bowl make the marinade by combing the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir and set aside.
- In a large salad bowl add the peppers, red onion, celery, cucumber, 1/2 of the spring onion and cooled rice. Pour over the marinade and stir well. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
- Remove from refrigerator and add the fresh arugula, parsley and alfalfa. Stir and top with remaining spring onion. Will keep in the refrigerator up to two days.
*A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
Thanks For Stopping By And Hope To See You soon!
