recipes

Brown Rice and Orange Salad

The lovely nutty texture of brown rice is perfect for salads. I make this dish quite a lot in the summer months as it is ideal for a BBQ buffet. The leftovers are perfect for lunch the following day.

Serves 4- 6

Ingredients

• 250g cooked Roma brown rice
• 4 large oranges, segmented (or sliced)
• 40g black olives
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced into rings
• 1 large fennel bulb
• 4 tbsp Roma Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp coriander seeds, toasted and crushed
• 1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
• 1 tbsp coriander, chopped
• Bunch of watercress
• Salt and ground black pepper

Method

1. Peel the oranges with a sharp knife ensuring all white pith is removed.
2. Segment or slice the oranges. Catch the surplus orange juice and retain for use in the dressing.
3. Thinly slice the fennel and reserve the feathery tops.
4. Toss the orange segments, onion rings, fennel slices, olives, chopped mint and coriander in a bowl. Add the rice.
5. To prepare the dressing whisk the olive oil, 1 tbsp of the orange juice from earlier and lemon juice together. Add the coriander seeds and season with salt and ground black pepper. Whisk thoroughly.
6. Toss the dressing over the salad. Cover and leave for 30 minutes in a cool place for the flavours to infuse and for the fennel to soften.
7. Drain off any excess dressing before serving.
8. Place on a bed of watercress. Sprinkle with the fennel tops and a few sprigs of mint and coriander.