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I’m sorry it’s taken until Christmas week to share this Christmas rice salad recipe with you.
If you’re a regular in these parts, you’ll already know I’ve been somewhat preoccupied doing a little thing called publishing a cookbook. And I’ve been completely blown away by the support you’ve all given the Combi Steam Christmas book so far! It has far exceeded my hopes for a first self-published attempt, and I cannot wait to bring you another, larger book soon.
You might also be sorry I didn’t share this herby, pistachio and cranberry-studded rice salad earlier, once you discover how great it is. If I’d been more forthcoming, you too could have been taking it to every social gathering all month long.
But you’ve still got Christmas day to come, and this is well and truly worthy of inclusion on the table. To be honest, I’ll be making this salad right through the year. It’s far too delicious to save just for festive season outings.
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Festive season ingredients
If there’s a definitive list of rules about Christmas ingredients, I am wilfully ignoring it here in favour of my own spin on seasonally appropriate inclusions.
This salad says Christmas to me because it includes tart-sweet dried cranberries, a Santa season staple. Mixed with a bright, zingy dressing, pistachio nuts, lots of fresh herbs and feta cheese, it looks so festively red, green and white that I don’t know what else I’d call it.
There are any number of other things you could add to this dish. Roasted cubes of pumpkin would be nice, as would blanched green beans or asparagus. Or, if you wanted to make it more of a main course affair with extra protein, shredded cooked chicken or leftover turkey would be a great addition.
Why steam brown rice instead of boiling?
I’m a big fan of the nutty, slightly chewy texture of brown rice, especially in salads. It can stand up to being dressed and mixed with other ingredients without turning mushy, as white rice sometimes does. And I love cooking brown rice in my steam oven because its flavour is so much better than when boiled.
My unscientific studies in cooking rice show that steamed brown rice is far superior to boiled for a couple of reasons: firstly, the fairly obvious one that when you steam it, you aren’t draining the cooking water and washing away a lot of flavour and nutrients. The other reason is that the steamed grains remain more intact and hold their shape better.
Definitely try this salad if you’re in need of one more side dish for Christmas day. You can make it in the morning and finish dressing just before serving, so it’s very low stress. And the leftovers will keep well for a couple of days in the fridge, perfect for those quieter post-Christmas meals.
Happy steam oven cooking, see you here again soon.
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Brown Rice Salad with Cranberries, Pistachios and Feta
Ingredients
- 2 cups medium grain brown rice 400g
- 1/4 cup olive oil 60ml
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar 60ml apple cider vinegar would be a good substitute
- 2 tsp ground sumac it’s not the same, but the zest and juice of a lemon will do as a substitute
- 1 tbs harissa paste
- 2/3 cup dried cranberries 100g
- 1 bunch parsley leaves picked and roughly chopped
- 1 bunch mint leaves picked and roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup shelled pistachio nuts 50g roughly chopped
- 3 1/2 oz Persian feta 100g crumbled
Instructions
Cook the rice
- Mix the rice with 3 cups (750ml) cold water in a shallow stainless steel tray. Put in your steam oven and set to 212°F/100°C, steam setting (100% humidity). Cook for 40-45 minutes until the rice is tender. Fluff with a fork and set aside while you get the dressing ready.
Make dressing and assemble salad
- To make the dressing, whisk the oil, vinegar, sumac powder and harissa paste in a small bowl.
- Put the warm rice into a bowl. Add the cranberries, pour the dressing over and mix well to combine. Let the rice cool to room temperature. If you’d like to hold off serving for a while, cover the bowl at this point and put in the fridge until about 20 minutes before you’re ready to serve. It'll keep for up to 8 hours like this.
- When you’re ready to serve, add the herbs to the rice mixture and stir to combine. Put into a serving bowl or spread out on a platter and scatter the nuts and Persian feta over the top. Serve at room temperature.
Notes
- This serves 8 people comfortably as a side dish that’s part of a buffet, or 4 as a more substantial meal salad.
- Don’t shy away from the quantity of herbs here – use a large bunch each of the mint and parsley. You want them to act as the leafy component of the salad and their freshness should offset the earthiness of the rice.
- The harissa paste I use in the dressing is quite garlicky and spicy. If yours is less so, or you can’t find harissa, feel free to add a minced clove of fresh garlic and some freshly chopped red chilli.
- If you want to make this ahead of time, you can do it right up to the end of step 3. Add the herbs, nuts and cheese shortly before serving.
- Leftovers will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge, although the nuts will soften over time.
Nutrition
Over to you – if you try this recipe I’d love to know about it! Please share your pictures with me on Facebook or tag them #whatsinthesteamoven on Instagram.
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2 Responses
I make this salad at least every Christmas. Always a hit and great flavour combination
I made this last Thanksgiving when I was looking for another side dish. It was the first time I’d made rice in my steam oven – it came out perfectly! The flavors in this salad are fresh and festive. I didn’t have sumac or mint, but lots of parsley and cilantro give good flavor. The feta and rice vinegar are a good combination. I didn’t have pistachios, so substituted toasted pin nuts. This recipe is a keeper.