Rice salad is a great summer classic, but it doesn’t always have to contain a great variety of ingredients to be delicious. This recipe proposes a simple variant, which is prepared quickly and doesn’t require too many elements.
For cooking rice, you can rely on the classic method: a large pot. Alternatively, you can cook the rice in the microwave, saving time for cooking and washing the hob and utensils afterwards.
Personally, I recommend using a pyrex bowl, resistant to high temperatures, or a plastic bowl suitable for microwave cooking.
Ingredients
For 4 people, preparation time 10 minutes, cooking time 15-20 minutes, plus time for the rice to cool:
- 300gr brown rice
- 600g boiling water
- 200g mini plum tomatoes
- 80gr olives
- Basil and parsley to taste
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 fresh spring onion
- Salt and pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
Method
1 – Cook the rice in a pot in plenty of boiling salted water or use an alternative method in the microwave. Put the rice in a large bowl, pour the boiling water, cover with a lid (without hermetically sealing) or cling film, pierced with few holes. Cook it in the microwave on medium power for about 15-20 minutes, or until thoroughly cooked.
Once cooked, be very careful because the bowl will be extremely hot, and a lot of steam will come out. Be careful when opening the microwave door, let the excess steam escape, and handle the bowl with an oven glove or tea towel.
2 – While cooking the rice, prepare the other ingredients by cutting the olives, cherry tomatoes, spring onion and garlic.
3 – Season everything in a bowl with salt, pepper and oil and mix well. When the rice has cooled down, add the rest of the ingredients and add plenty of parsley and basil.
Tips
- Check the instructions for your microwave. Often have specific programs for cooking rice. It will be good to follow the instructions given to obtain excellent results.
- To quickly cool the rice, prepare a bowl, which must be larger than the one where you cooked the rice, fill it with ice and place the rice bowl on top. Cooling the rice under water could cause it to lose its flavour. Placing it in the refrigerator when it’s still hot could raise the refrigerator’s temperature and everything else you have in it, risking ruining both the food and the fridge.
