Today’s recipe is for a refreshing first course: rice and legume salad with quinoa, corn, and arugula.
The single dish most prepared on hot days like these is surely rice salads or cereal salads but also fresh couscous. I remember my mom always made the same rice salad with ready-made ‘condiriso’ and mayonnaise and never changed it because it was easy to make, but actually, you can create many variations without using pre-made dressings. Today, I present a very easy idea to dress your rice salad differently.
Fresh, light, delicate, and nutritious, this rice salad is made with whole grain rice, lentils, peas, millet, and quinoa to which I’ve added corn, arugula, and shavings of parmesan, a real delight. I used split red lentils and split dried peas that I previously boiled, but you can substitute these legumes with chickpeas or use canned steamed legumes to speed up the process as the indicated ones are already cooked.
Looking at the list of ingredients, it might seem like a long and difficult preparation, but you just need to boil and then combine the ingredients; nothing could be easier. To complete the dish, I added a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, and I say drizzle because I used a gel made with balsamic vinegar that I bought a while ago from a vinegar factory. It is out of this world, and I haven’t found it since. You can substitute it with balsamic glaze or find vinegar pearls on some e-commerce sites.
Now let’s see together, step by step, how to make this recipe.
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer
Ingredients for Rice Salad
- 1 1/4 cups parboiled rice (I use whole grain)
- 1/2 cup split red lentils (cooked)
- 1/3 cup peas (cooked)
- 1/4 cup quinoa
- 1/4 cup hulled millet
- 1 cup canned sweet corn, drained
- 1 bunch arugula
- to taste Parmigiano Reggiano PDO (shavings)
- to taste salt
- to taste olive oil
- to taste balsamic vinegar glaze (or balsamic vinegar gel)
- 2 tablespoons mixed seeds
Tools
- 1 Pot
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Scale
Let’s Prepare the Rice Salad Together
If you choose to use dry legumes, you will need to cook them after soaking. If you have already cooked them, we can proceed with preparing the rice and legume salad.
In a pot, bring water to a boil to cook the grains. When it boils, add salt and pour in the rice, hulled millet, and quinoa. Let them cook for the time indicated on the package.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, put the drained corn and add the washed and broken arugula, also add the parmesan shavings, then season with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Mix to blend the ingredients.
Drain the cooked grains and rinse them under cold running water, then add them to the bowl with the corn and arugula. Add the cooked legumes and mixed seeds. Mix to flavor the ingredients and let cool before placing in the fridge. Adjust salt and oil to taste.
Curly Girl Recommends
The rice and legume salad with quinoa, corn, and arugula keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days in an airtight container. As mentioned at the beginning, preparation times vary based on the type of legumes you choose to use. If you start with dry legumes, it will naturally take more time.
