Nutty Rice Salad
Turn kitchen staples into a company-worthy side dish that keeps well in a lunch box too. Pairs well with beans or eggs.
Active time: 10 minutes. Total time: 30 minutes.
Ingredients
1 cup dry rice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups water
1 cup walnut pieces, chopped and toasted
1 cup raisins
2 large carrots, peeled and grated, about 1 cup
Method
- Cook rice. Rinse rice unless directions on package say not to. Bring water to a boil over high heat, add rice and salt, stir, and cover. Turn down heat to lowest setting and let simmer for 15 minutes. Then turn off heat but do not uncover. Let sit for 5 more minutes.
- Prepare mix-ins. While rice cooks, chop walnuts and toast under a broiler or in a small pan on medium-high heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Peel and grate carrots.
- Steam and mix. When rice is done, put walnuts, raisins, and carrots on top of rice and cover pot again. Let sit about 5 minutes to soften the raisins and slightly steam the carrots.
- Serve. Toss rice mixture with a fork to fluff up rice and mix in walnuts, raisins, and carrots. Serve warm or at room temperature. Refrigerated any extra. Best eaten within a day or two.
Tips and notes
- Use light broth to make the rice instead of water, such as the broth from chick peas or from cooking asparagus.
- Long-grain white rice is especially nice for this dish, but any type of rice would work.
- This dish was inspired by the Qaboli Palao dish I used to get in a terrific Afghani restaurant in Washington DC.
