Rice Salad

 Here is another recipe using vegetables from my CSA, specifically an attempt to use up all the lettuce I've been getting.  It was delicious.  Along with the lettuce there was fresh basil and the baby tomatoes were perfect.


This is a recipe that requires a lot of pieces.  I made the rice a pork the night before (which was a Sunday).  It was then really easy to whip the rest of it together.



Fresh basil, spring onions and perfect baby tomatoes made it a great summer dish.  It also has egg with gruyere in it, interesting and delicious. Parmesan would work well too.

I got a bunch of squash this week and was thinking how delicious it would be to roast the squash (with a little balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh herbs to taste) and chop it up to add to the rice. I think you could add carrots or celery or whatever, but the rice and pork make it a more substantial meal than just a salad.

Rice Salad

1 cup arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large egg
1 tablespoon grated Gruyere cheese
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 cup finely diced cooked pork
1/3 cup chopped spring onions or red onion
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
4 cups torn lettuce
1 pint baby tomatoes, sliced in half
1. Bring large saucepan of water to boil. Stir in rice and salt. Reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered until rice is tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Drain rice well.
2. Whisk vinegar and oil in large bowl. Add warm rice and toss to coat.
3. Whisk egg and cheese in small bowl to blend. Spray medium nonstick skillet with vegetable oil spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add egg mixture and stir constantly until scrambled and curds are set, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and cool. Cut egg into small pieces. Season to taste with pepper.
4. Stir egg pieces, pork, onion, tomatoes and basil into rice. Season salad to taste with salt and pepper. Line shallow bowl with lettuce. Spoon rice salad onto leaves. Serve at room temperature.

Adapted from Epicurious

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