Brown Rice Salad

I can’t let the whole month go by without a post, so here’s a real favourite of mine. This is an incredibly zesty salad, a great one to take to barbecues or just whip up a batch and have some throughout the week. As an interesting aside, when this recipe was originally given to me, it called for 3/4 cup of sunflower oil – more of a soup than a salad! After a few experiments, I think I’ve found that 1/4 cup is a good balance between too oily and too dry, or too out of proportion with the soy sauce and lemon juice.

Share and enjoy!

1 cup of brown rice (measured uncooked)
1/3 cup currants
60g roasted cashews
3 tab spns chopped parsley
6 spring onions (shallots/eshallots)
1 red capsicum (bell pepper)
2 tab roasted sunflower seeds

Cook rice and allow it to cool. I often cook the rice the evening before making the salad. Finely chop the capsicum, spring onions and parsley. Roughly crush the cashews with the flat of your cook’s knife. Mix everything together. Add the dressing immediately before serving and mix well.

Soy sauce dressing
1/4 cup sunflower oil
3 tab spns light soy sauce
2 tab spns lemon juice
1 clove garlic (v. finely chopped)
small pinch salt and pepper

Variations
– Substitute a Spanish or red onion for spring onion, or just add one.
– Substitute a mix of sunflower seeds, pine nuts and pepitas for the sunflower seeds.
– Add grated carrot or zucchini
– Double the quantity for parties, etc.