Rice Salad

This is not so much a rice salad recipe as an idea of ingredients you could put into your rice salad

My mother always used to do rice salad with tuna, olives, and lots of other ingredients; It was always seasoned with extra virgin olive oil and salt rather than mayonnaise.

I still adore rice salad with tuna, but for a meat BBQ side dish that doesn’t always work (especially when hubby can’t stand tuna!).  This is my Italian/Mediterranean take on the English rice salad made with mayonnaise.  I’ve not added quantities as this will depend on how many people you want to feed…and you can adjust the ingredient quantities to suit your individual taste.

Rice Salad

Ingredients

  • Long grain rice, washed in cold water, then boiled according to instructions (usually approx. 12 mins) in slightly salted water, then rinsed in a colander under cold water and left to cool down and drain/dry
  • Pitted black olives, sliced
  • Pitted green olives, sliced
  • Chargrilled artichokes in oil, drained and chopped

    Rice Salad Ingredients
    Rice Salad ingredients before adding Rice
  • Sundried tomatoes in oil, drained and finely chopped
  • Sweetcorn (tinned, drained)
  • Spring onions, finely chopped
  • Capers, drained and finely chopped
  • Green, Yellow and Red peppers, finely chopped
  • Mayonnaise or extra virgin olive oil

Method

Mix all the ingredients together, taste and adjust seasoning if needed.  Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate until needed.

Food safety note: Rice can quickly become unsafe to eat as it contains spore-forming bacteria. Always keep cooked rice refrigerated and, in the case of rice salad, which will be eaten cold (i.e. without re-heating to kill off any bacteria), consume within a couple of days.

Rice Salad – Gloriously Simple, Gloriously Good!

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Mamma’s remedy | food blog | recipe | good food

When I was unwell as a child, my mum would give me boiled rice, but not just any boiled rice, oh no!

Risotto rice (e.g. Arborio or Carnaroli), boiled in ample salted water (not cooked like a risotto, but with all the water added at the start), then served with some of the starchy water (i.e. you don’t drain it),  a generous drop of olive oil, a knob of butter & tons of grated parmesan. Delicious and so comforting!

Now I’m an Italian Mamma myself, I’ve been doing the same with my kids when they’re not well (though if their tummies are the problem, I steer clear of the butter & parmesan, settling for just a tiny drop of olive oil for taste instead).

My eldest daughter Charlie, aged 14, is proving quite capable in the kitchen already and tends to cook her own rice when she’s not well.  It’s an instant feel-good remedy that’s becoming a family tradition, being passed down from generation to generation.  I can imagine my grandchildren, great-grandchildren and beyond enjoying the same comfort food when they’re unwell!

Try it – you’ll immediately feel like you’re getting a lovely warm hug!

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