Brown Rice Salad

Some neighbors invited us to a pot luck in their back yard tonight.  I took a cold brown rice salad.  Several women asked for the recipe, not just because they liked it.  Even the husbands went back for seconds.

The original recipe I found at allrecipes.com; hardly ever do I make a recipe as written.  This is how I made tonight's salad.

Secrets to Successful Brown Rice
Soak 2 cups of brown rice in rice water overnight.  The next day drain rice water before boiling.  This soaking can be omitted.

Bring 3 cups of chicken broth to a boil.  If you do not have at least 2 T of chicken fat on the broth, add butter or coconut oil to the broth.  The fat helps the rice to cook up fluffy, not sticky.

Add rice and lower heat to a simmer, covered, for 45 minutes.  Once the timer rings, do not lift the lid!  Turn off the heat and let the pot sit undisturbed for at least 15 minutes.

I used about 2/3 of the rice for the salad, saving the remaining 1/3 for tomorrow's dinner.  You could use all the rice for the salad.  If you do, let me encourage you to beef up the other ingredients, too.

While you're waiting on the rice to cool, begin to chop the remaining ingredients for the salad.

1/4 cup (or more) diced red onion or shallots
1 clove garlic, chopped (optional, but I like garlic!)
1 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup (or more) dried fruit, like cherries, cranberries or raisins
2 carrots, shredded
1 cup chopped parsley

Make the below vinaigrette and pour over cooled rice:
2 T local honey
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
couple pinches of red pepper flakes, or a dash of cayenne pepper

Mix everything together, refrigerate, and taste.  Or taste then refrigerate.  If you're using homemade broth, more salt is probably needed.  Just make sure to taste before serving it to guests.  :)

Just before serving I garnished the bowl with walnuts.

-Julie


EDIT: I've since made this with radish relish which adds a bit more nutrition and digestive enzymes to the yummy dish.