Rice Salad Primavera & Banana-Blueberry Sorbet

Last summer I ate a lot of different variations of rice salad. I was cooking a lot from Mark Bittman’s How To Cook Everything Vegetarian. In the salad section he has a table full of different twists you can take with rice salads. I think I made almost everyone listed.

I made a big pot of brown basmati rice one weekend and every night as I packed my lunch for the next day I would dish out my rice and make a single portion rice salad.

Rice Salad Primavera comes from the July/August 2009 issue of Vegetarian Times. The addition of tofu to the salad makes it a complete meal. I love the colors: red tomatoes, orange bell pepper, yellow squash, and green onions.

The salad is dressed in a simple vinaigrette made of hearty spicy brown mustard, red wine vinegar, and olive oil. It’s light, refreshing and perfect for a summer lunch or picnic or for Vegan Tuesday.

Rice Salad Primavera

Adapted from July/August 2009 Vegetarian Times

• 1 cup brown basmati rice
• 1 8 0unce package of Italian garlic baked tofu, cubed
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 4 green onions, chopped (1/2 cup)
• 1/2 orange bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup)
• 1 small cucumber, peeled, quartered, and sliced (1/2 cup)
• 1 small yellow squash, diced (1/2 cup)
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons hearty spicy brown mustard
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and fresh ground pepper

1. Bring rice and 2 cups water to boil in covered saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool.
2. Stir tofu, tomatoes, green onions, bell pepper, cucumber, and squash into rice.
3. Whisk together vinegar and mustard in small bowl. Whisk in oil until mixture forms smooth sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Stir vinaigrette into rice. Chill well before serving.

Serves 8.

We’ve had a bounty of locally-grown blueberries, so for something sweet I made the Banana-Blueberry Sorbet from The Perfect Scoop. Even though there is no dairy, it’s creamy from the bananas. It’s light and refreshing without the heaviness of ice cream. Perfect on a summer night. I also think it would be great frozen into popsicles. You can find the recipe HERE.

(Of course, when I mentioned to the co-workers the great tasting blueberries they wondered when something baked  would show up. Can’t take this to work. )

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