Rice salad is an easy and quick summer recipe that can be prepared in countless ways by adding ingredients such as vegetables, cheese, ham, tuna, olives, pickles, etc., to the boiled and then cooled rice.
Everyone has their own personal version of rice salad, and the one I propose today is the one my mom has always made, using cherry tomatoes, tuna, olives, corn, mozzarella, and basil to dress the rice.
To this traditional version (at least for me), on the advice of my girls who like it a lot, I always add a few tablespoons of mayonnaise which gives the whole dish that extra touch.
For those who don’t like or can’t consume this type of sauce, as a dressing, you can simply use olive oil.
Now take a minute to read the recipe and then…Let’s cook and eat!!
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Summer
Ingredients
- 10 oz rice (arborio or parboiled)
- 3.5 oz cherry tomatoes (cherry or date tomatoes)
- 2.8 oz green olives (sweet)
- 5.3 oz mozzarella balls
- 3.5 oz corn, sweet, canned, drained
- 5.6 oz tuna in water (or in oil, drained)
- to taste salt
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste mayonnaise
- A few leaves basil (fresh)
Tools
- 1 Pot
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Pitter
- 1 Colander
- 1 Knife
Steps
To prepare the rice salad, first, bring salted water to a boil for cooking the rice.
When the water reaches a boil, add the rice and cook it until al dente, calculating a couple of minutes less than the cooking times indicated on the package. Before draining, taste it to check the consistency.
Let the rice cool in a colander.
In the meantime, prepare the dressing.
First, wash and cut the cherry tomatoes in half, place them in a bowl, and season with oil, salt, and a few basil leaves. Let them marinate for a few minutes.
Then add the mozzarella balls, corn, and olives that have been pitted and cut into pieces.
Finally, add the tuna and let everything marinate until the rice is completely cold, and you can mix it with the dressing. Stir to distribute the flavors well.
To finish, add a few tablespoons of mayonnaise (according to your taste) and stir again.
Let the rice salad rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.
Before serving, since it might dry out in the fridge, add a drizzle of olive oil and stir.
Plate it and enjoy your rice salad 😊.
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Notes
Notes
For preparing rice salad, you can choose different types of rice, from parboiled, which can hold the cooking without overcooking, to Carnaroli or Arborio rice, with fairly large and resistant grains.
Rice salad can be stored in the fridge in a closed container for 24 hours.
Personally, I do not recommend going beyond 24 hours as the tomato tends to turn sour.
