Nice Rice

You say tabbouleh, I say tabouli, we all loved that bulghur wheat salad, but a delicious substitute is the following rice salad, adapted from the Tabouli Recipe in “Moosewood Restaurant: Low-Fat Favorites” by the Moosewood Collective. Here’s our version:

Middle Eastern Rice Salad

3 cups cooked rice
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 small cloves of garlic, pressed
1 cup chopped Italian parsley
4 scallions, chopped (I substituted ¼ cup finely minced red onion, in summertime I would use the chives in my kitchen garden)
Handful of grape tomatoes, halved (so they don’t spit you or a friend in the eye when chomped)
Chopped fresh mint or 1 tsp. dried mint
Kosher salt and pepper to taste.
A couple of splashes of extra virgin olive oil

Ideally, you make your rice right before you mix in the dressing so that the rice grains suck it up better, but cold leftover rice will do. Mix all ingredients together and let flavors mingle at room temperature for several hours. If salad seems a little dry, splash in some rice wine vinegar and maybe a little more olive oil.

Feta cheese, black olives, dill, and chick peas can be added to vary this salad.

A good party dish, particularly for summer gatherings, as it can be left out for hours without spoiling.

Serves 10-12.