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Easy Rice Salad with Roasted Vegetables
There are so many different recipes for rice salad to choose from but the following is especially good, for several reasons. First, it contains an eclectic mixture of roasted vegetables and salami, as well as feta cheese to add a Greek taste and creaminess. The garlic and parsley add a gentle flavor but not too much, so most of the flavor comes from the roasted tomato and onion.
The tomato and salami adds color to the otherwise white and cream-colored dish. You can also be imaginative with this dish, perhaps adding another kind of cheese like cheddar or mozzarella, and another kind of roasted vegetable like eggplant, zucchini, or bell peppers. The bell peppers would also add more color to the recipe. What about some chili pepper or diced fresh chilies if you want to add some spice? You could even leave out the salami and feta and add other kinds of roasted vegetables, some chicken or tofu and maybe some Indian spices like cumin, coriander, or curry powder to make a curried rice salad.
You can serve this easy rice salad recipe for lunch or supper. It would also work as a side dish if you are serving a piece of meat, poultry, or fish, since the flavors are quite mild and it goes with lots of types of meat entrees.
Roasted Vegetable and Salami Rice Salad Recipe
Ingredients -
1 ½ cups long grain white rice
1 lb cherry tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon white sugar
2 oz sliced salami
3 oz feta cheese marinated in olive oil
1 red onion, in thin wedges
Cooking spray
⅓ cup chopped fresh parsley
Pinch of salt
Pinch of black pepper
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 390 degrees F.
Use baking paper to line a roasting pan.
Put the onion and tomatoes in the roasting pan and spray them with oil.
Crush the garlic over the top and sprinkle on the salt, sugar, and pepper.
Toss well to coat, then roast for 20 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft but will still hold their shape.
Cook the rice according to the directions on the package and let it cool to room temperature, stirring it with a fork to separate the grains.
Drain the cheese, keeping 2 tablespoons of the oil.
Crumble it over the rice, and then add the tomatoes, onion, and parsley to the rice.
Stir in the reserved olive oil and salami.
Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.
Serve at room temperature.
(Serves 8)
Wine Suggestion:
Which Wine to Serve with Rice Salad
Choose a White Zinfandel or Pinot Blanc to go with this delicious rice salad recipe. White Zinfandel is especially versatile and will pair with everything from seafood entrees to barbecue chicken, Cajun food or even Asian recipes. These wines are made in California and will go very nicely with this dish. If you want a red wine instead, choose something fruity like a Merlot or Pinot Noir.
Photo Description:
As the picture shows you, this is an attractive yet simple rice salad recipe. The tomato and salami add color and this makes a great side dish, salad, or buffet dish. Roasting the onion and tomatoes brings out their sweetness and this makes the difference between a standard rice salad recipe and a great one. This is a great dish if you are feeling creative because you can add all kinds of ingredients to the recipe to add color, flavor, and texture. If you want to use bell peppers or chilies, roast them along with the onion and tomatoes to bring out the flavor.
Ethnic Rice Salad Recipes
Rice is a very versatile ingredient and it is economical as well. You can make all kinds of rice salad recipes, using rice as your base ingredient for the dish. If you like basmati, which is a hot Indian rice dish, you can reproduce these spicy flavors in a rice salad recipe. When you cook the rice, add half a teaspoon of turmeric to the cooking water and the rice will come out bright yellow.
You can also add raisins to the cooking water and they will swell and become really juicy as the rice cooks. Stir in some tofu cubes or cooked chicken and some cooked vegetables too, like celery, carrot, mushroom and onion. You can stir in some mayonnaise or sour cream to make the rice salad moist and add chili powder, cumin, or coriander to give it an authentic Indian flavor.
Chinese rice salad is also popular and you can make this by adding peanuts, thinly sliced green onion, shiitake mushrooms, bell pepper, pineapple and other oriental ingredients to your cooked rice. Use mayonnaise to add moisture to the dish and add a little five spice powder or another kind of Chinese seasoning. You can use jasmine rice for this, if you want, or a combination of brown and white rices.
Simple Fusion Rice Salad
You can also make fusion dishes by adding any meat, poultry, fish, fruit, and vegetables you want to use up. The more ingredients you add to the rice, the simpler the sauce or dressing needs to be. A spoonful of mayonnaise and some salt and pepper might be all you need to stir into the finished rice salad recipe.
When matching wine to your ethnic rice salad recipes, bear in mind that rice does not have much of a flavor of its own, so you will need to match the wine to the main ingredients and flavors in the dish.
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