Rice Can Make a Great Cold Side Sish

Since my husband and I have been eating more healthily, upping the vegetable quantity, dropping simple carbs and eating only small amounts of meat, I have tried to get a bit creative with these ingredients. Since yesterday was July 4th, our Independence Day, I wanted some really great flavors for dinner, since my sister-in-law was coming over. I started thinking about rice. I love brown rice, and there are so many other types of whole grain rices available these days.
 

Cold Rice Salad with Blackberry Dressing

In particular, Lundberg (brand) has a wonderful mixture of rices all together in one package, and I have been buying this mix for many years. It tastes so great all on its own that (to my taste buds) it needs little enhancing. It is called "Wild Rice Blend," and is a mix of long grain brown rice, sweet brown rice, wild rice, whole grain Wehani rice, and whole grain black Japonica™ rice. Any one of these rices on its own would be great. All together? Fantastic! And I made it into a cold side dish (or "salad" if you will) with the most fantastic results. In the photo above, the pink color overall is due to the Blackberry Dressing I made and used in the salad.

The rice blend I used

As with most things, when I discover something new, I like to try more and more varieties. So, too, it has been with rice. Aside from the regular white long grain, basmati, "tex-mati," or jasmine rices, I usually have at least three or more other types available at home in my pantry. Right now, I have brown rice, red rice, wehani rice, black rice (also called "forbidden rice") and purple sticky rice. Aside from Lundberg brand's wonderful single and combination rice blends, Lotus Foods also has some wonderful rice available. My black "Forbidden" rice, and red rice are from Lotus Foods. I also have gotten their Jade Pearl Rice and want to try their Madagascar pink rice. 

Okay, enough on all the rice. All I want to get across is that there are so very many good whole grain rice types available these days, it would be a shame not to take advantage. On Vitacost.com, for example, many of these packages of rice are only just over $3 apiece. I made this wonderful rice "salad" yesterday using the Lundberg Wild Rice Blend, but any of these whole grain rices individually would make an equally delightful substitute in my recipe. Granted, with the hot-pink color of the dressing, the color would be far less appetizing if using the Jade Pearl Rice, as it is a light green in color, due to it being infused with bamboo juice. Most other rice would be great. 

My sister-in-law buys fruits each year from a fruit club and convinced me to try something. I chose blackberries, hence the Blackberry Dressing I used in this dish. On its own, the dressing is really lovely and delicious. This is the recipe:

Blackberry Dressing

Blackberry Dressing

Makes about 1½ cups.

½ cup extra virgin olive oil
6 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 cup fresh blackberries
2 teaspoons honey or agave syrup
1½ teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, stems discarded
½ teaspoon dry mustard powder
16 drops liquid Stevia clear

Place all ingredients into a blender container and blend as finely as possible. Pour through a strainer, pressing to extract all liquids. Discard solids. Store the dressing in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Let stand for a few minutes at room temperature before using, to return the mixture to a more liquid state.

On to the Side Dish or Salad

When considering what to serve for our 4th of July feast, I chose Chicken with Indian Spices (recipe found here) and grilled asparagus. The chicken was a somewhat simplified version: I left out the black pepper and cardamom this time and used far less oil and red wine vinegar. It was still amazing. Thinking further, I thought of rice, and then thought about adding fresh vegetables into the rice, and opted to make it a cold, or at least cool dish. The main vegetables were onion, red bell pepper, spinach and carrot. Cilantro had to be added, because we love cilantro, but this can be replaced with parsley, if you happen to be one of those people (poor souls) who cannot abide cilantro. All of this went through my head when I received the many containers of blackberries. 

Amazing how the mind works sometimes!

Ultimately, the rice has to be cooked and cooled to room temperature, so this takes a little planning ahead. The Lundberg Wild Rice Blend needed to be cooked for 45 minutes. It took a further half hour or 45 minutes to cool down completely. I wanted the vegetables to remain crisp, so having the rice cooled completely was important. While the rice is cooking, it is easy to get the remainder of the ingredients assembled. Once the rice is cooled, just add it in and toss with the dressing.

If you have not made the Blackberry Dressing, another dressing of choice may be used, obviously with a slightly different flavor as the result. I would suggest something light and mildly sweet, such as Ken's Vidalia Onion Dressing or one of the many poppy seed dressings.

Cold Rice Salad with Blackberry Dressing

Cold Rice Salad with Blackberry Dressing

Serves 4 to 6

¾ cup Lundberg Wild Rice Blend, or other whole grain rice of choice
2 cups water 
½ teaspoon salt
½ small red onion, about ½ cup thinly sliced, quartered
cider vinegar
1 cup finely sliced fresh baby spinach (chiffonade)
½ red bell pepper, chopped small, about ¾ cup
1 small carrot, shredded, about ½ cup
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup raisins
2 tablespoons Blackberry Dressing (recipe above)

In advance, cook the rice with the water and salt: bring the pot to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover tightly. Time the cooking for 45 minutes. If there is water remaining in the pan after 45 minutes, strain the water out, then fluff the rice and set aside to cool completely, to room temperature.

Set the half-onion on its side and cut lengthwise into 2 pieces. Cut across the onion into very fine slices. Separate all the strands and place them in a small bowl and cover with cider vinegar. This will remove the raw onion taste completely, leaving the onion sweet and flavorful with no harsh results later on. Leave to soak at least 10 minutes, then drain away the vinegar before using.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the soaked and drained onion, the spinach, bell pepper, carrot, cilantro and raisins. Mix in the dressing. Once the rice is cool, add it in and toss again to coat. Serve immediately or let set for up to 2 hours before serving if needed.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Red Quinoa and Black Rice

Some may be wondering about these two things in the title: Red Quinoa and Black Rice. Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) has become much more popular and accessible these days, while black rice is perhaps less so. I only found out about red quinoa in the last couple of years. While I had some black rice prior to even knowing red quinoa existed, black rice is far less available in many places. There is always the internet. The entire world has opened up so much more each year, providing availability of items we had no real hope of acquiring just a few years ago. 
 

Red Quinoa

Red Quinoa, and Quinoa in General

Quinoa is used similarly to grains, but is not even related, making it a wonderful replacement for persons with gluten intolerance. It is ground into flour, though using quinoa flour alone produces rather dense baked goods. This is remedied by using it in combination with rice or tapioca flours. Quinoa is far higher in proteins than wheat, making it a more complete protein source. It has far higher fat content than most grains, and it is a heart-healthy kind of fat, mainly monounsaturated oleic acid, alpha-linoleic acid and omega-3 fatty acids. 

Quinoa is also a significant source of the antioxidant flavonoids quercetin and kaempferol, and can contain a greater concentration of these flavonoids than berries such as cranberries and lingonberries. Other significant properties being studied are quinoa's anti-inflammatory properties, effect on diabetes, cancer and heart disease. See this article from Healthline.

Black Rice

Black Rice

Black Rice, or Forbidden Rice / Emperor's Rice, was once forbidden to the common people and only eaten by Emperors. It is still relatively uncommon in the US, but as demand rises, it becomes more widely available. 

One spoonful of black rice provides the same amount of anthocyanin antioxidants (the purple and dark red pigments that give color and nutrients to blueberries, grapes, blackberries, dark cherries and acai berries) as a spoonful of blueberries. Out of various kinds of rice, including polished white rice, brown rice, purple rice and red rice, black rice has the highest concentration of nutrients. It has nearly double the fiber of brown rice. See this article from the Cleveland Clinic.

Moving on...

With the information here, one can understand the reason why these two foods are of interest. For me, this is coupled with the fact that they taste really good. Either quinoa or rice is easy to prepare and both lend themselves to the addition of other vegetables and or fruits to enhance the flavors. I have made rice "salads" in past, using the addition of some chopped fresh vegetables and a light vinaigrette for flavors. One of my daughters has done the same with white quinoa, with fantastic results. In fact, she is the one that started me on quinoa to begin with.

Red Quinoa & Black Rice Salad

I have had many colors of rice in my pantry. Currently, I have white basmati rice, arborio rice, brown rice, purple sticky rice and bamboo rice (infused with bamboo juice), in addition to black rice. Thinking back to a rice salad recipe I used long years back, it used white rice and "wild rice" (not a rice at all). I recall really liking that recipe, though I never made it again. I thought that this combination of black rice with red quinoa would be interesting to look at, and with the addition of some vegetables, would make both a lovely presentation as well as great flavor and texture. As we are in the dead of winter up here where I live, while vegetables are available, they are more expensive and sometimes I just avoid buying things when who knows how far they have traveled before reaching a store nearby. 

Some things I do keep on hand are artichoke hearts, pimiento and other things in cans or jars, for when the mood strikes. In this case, the mood struck yesterday afternoon, when thinking of what to add to this recipe I was thinking up. There is a timing difference between cooking black rice and quinoa, so two pots must be dirtied to make them, but sometimes, the desire to eat a thing outweighs the consideration of how many things to wash up afterwards. 

Red Quinoa and Black Rice Salad, served with pork chops

Ultimately, I just loved this dish. It did turn out as pretty as I imagined. In summer I might add in other fresh vegetables such as green or red bell peppers, carrot, summer squash and other things. I love cilantro, and used it in this dish, but if cilantro is not your thing, use parsley instead, or even celery leaves. I used feta cheese in my salad, but other cheese can be substituted as desired. I had Feta in the fridge, as well as crumbled blue cheese and goat cheese, but opted for the Feta as it's saltiness was to play the part of any extra salt needed. If all you have available is white quinoa and brown rice, these would work just as well, though without quite the pretty color combination. Brown rice often must be cooked longer than the black rice also, so keep this in mind and follow your package directions.

Red Quinoa and Black Rice Salad

Serves 4 - 6

½ cup black rice
½ teaspoon salt

Red Quinoa & Black Rice Salad

1 cup water
-----
¾ cup red quinoa
½ teaspoon salt
1¼ cup water

VINAIGRETTE:
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 - 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
¼ teaspoon mustard powder
salt and pepper

EXTRAS:
1 (4-ounce) jar diced pimientos, drained
1 (6.5 or 7-ounce)jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
⅓ to ½ cup chopped scallions
½ cup chopped cilantro
4 ounces diced or crumbled Feta cheese

In one small saucepan combine the first three ingredients, bring to boil, cover the pot, reduce temperature and cook until rice is tender and water is evaporated, about 30 minutes. If water is not completely gone, drain of any excess. Cool to lukewarm.

In another saucepan, combine the next three ingredients, bring to boil, cover, reduce heat and cook until water is evaporated, about 15 or so minutes. Cool to lukewarm.

Mix together all the vinaigrette ingredients and whisk well. Set aside. Drain the artichokes and cut them into smaller chunks. Add the diced pimiento to the artichokes. Place the cooled rice and quinoa into a larger bowl and toss. Add the vinaigrette and toss. Add in all remaining ingredients and mix lightly but thoroughly. Serve tepid.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.