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Italian Rice Salad and a Giveaway

  • July 15, 2021

I first ate a rice salad years ago in Italy, prepared by one of my cousins near Piacenza during a particularly hot summer spell. I have since seen them in many places all over Italy, whether served with a vinegar and oil base as I have here, or a mayonnaise base. Either way they’re delicious and they typically include tuna, hard-boiled eggs, peas and many other vegetables. Many even include chunks of ham, but I kept this one vegetarian. The beauty of this salad is how it adapts to whatever you have on hand in your kitchen, and you can add ingredients in whatever quantities you like. It’s a perfect salad to take to a picnic, and tastes even better the day after you make it. But it makes a fine cold lunch or dinner too, since it contains proteins as well as vegetables. Add a green salad on the side and you’ve got a healthy and delicious meal. I used arborio rice and olive oil, both sent to me by  Limone Market. The rice is a brand called “Lucedio,” from a farm in the heart of Italy’s Piedmont region.  The grains are husked only when orders are received, to ensure freshness, and they held up well to all the strong ingredients in the salad. After cooking the rice, make sure to let it cool completely before proceeding with the recipe. The oil is from an estate in Sicily called “Bona Furtuna” and is made from a single, organic variety of olive called biancolillo centinara. The oil has a mild flavor, with a slight peppery taste at the end and would work well with any type of salad, seafood or even cake recipes. Both are available at Limone Market’s online shop.

Now for the giveaway: Limone Market has graciously offered to give one of my readers an assortment of its products – arborio rice and olive oil, that I used in this salad, plus lentils and pasta. The organic pasta is made by Monogramo Felicetti with kamut, an ancient grain that originated in the Middle East. It retains its firm texture, and is an excellent source of protein, fiber and vitamins and minerals, including selenium. Plus the shape — chiocciole (snails), is great for soaking up a sauce. I served it in a meat and tomato sauce, but the next time I use it, I plan to serve it in a lighter, olive-oil based sauce, to highlight its nutty, buttery flavor.

The organic lentils are from the Umbria region, from Casa Corneli.  Although the package recommends pre-soaking them, I found this step totally unnecessary, since they have very thin skins. I used them in a salad and they retained their shape perfectly. They’d be great in a soup or as a warm side dish too.

All you have to do to receive these products is leave a comment telling me your favorite way to enjoy rice. If you’re on Instagram, follow @ciaochowlinda and @limone_market and you’ll get two extra chances to win. The winner will be chosen using a random number generator.

Click here to connect with me on Instagram and find out what’s cooking in Ciao Chow Linda’s kitchen each day (and more)

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Italian Rice Salad
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups arborio rice
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 6.7 oz. jar tuna in olive oil (preferably an Italian brand like Tonnino), broken into pieces
  • 2 eggs hard-boiled and roughly chopped
  • cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
  • ¼ cup pickled red onions, chopped into pieces
  • ¼ cup pickled or roasted peppers, chopped into small pieces
  • 1 6.5 oz. jar marinated artichokes, chopped
  • 2 small carrots, diced in small pieces and boiled until tender
  • ½ cup frozen peas, used directly from the package (not cooked)
  • minced parsley
  • salt, pepper
  • FOR THE DRESSING:
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 2 large sprigs of basil
  • salt, pepper
Instructions
  1. Cook the rice in tthe water for about 20 minutes.
  2. Let the rice cool completely.
  3. Add the rest of the salad ingredients and mix.
  4. Place the dressing ingredients in a blender and whir until all are combined well.
  5. Pour over the rice salad and mix in thoroughly.
 

 

Colorful Carrot and Spinach Loaf

  • May 4, 2009

Have you ever bought those vegetable pates and been disappointed to discover how vile they are? They’re really an insipid excuse for food and I refuse to buy them again. This is quite the contrary, I assure you. This recipe has such a sweet and buttery flavor, you’ll be making this not only when your vegetarian friends are on the guest list, but for everyone who loves good food.

I made this for a reception yesterday and the plate was practically licked clean. The recipe comes from my friend Dede, one of “le matte,” my Italian chit-chat group. It’s originally a Wolfgang Puck recipe from his book “Modern French Cooking for the American Kitchen.” I changed it to use frozen spinach instead of fresh and used Jarlsberg cheese instead of the Gruyere, since that’s what I had on hand.

It can be served warm or at room temperature, but if you try to serve it right out of the oven, it won’t hold together very well. Give it at least 15 minutes to rest.

Start out by buttering a 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 2 1/2 inch loaf pan. Then line the pan with aluminum foil and butter the aluminum foil.

Then slice 2 pounds of carrots, using a knife or a mandoline. (Be careful of fingers if you’re using a mandoline. Mine fell prey – again – to the sharp blade and I have the bloody band-aids and the throbbing thumb to prove it.)

Here’s the entire recipe:

Carrot Loaf

1 stick plus 1 T. unsalted butter
2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices or little bits
1/4 pound mushrooms, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 box frozen spinach, thawed (original recipe calls for 1 pound fresh spinach)
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups cheese (Gruyere, Swiss, or whatever you’ve got on hand. I used Jarlsberg.)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper

1. Melt 1/2 stick of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots and saute’ slowly until tender, about 25 minutes. Chop coarsely and remove to a bowl.
2. Increase heat to high and melt 1 T. of butter. Add the mushrooms and saute’ for a couple of minutes. Chop coarsely and add to carrots. Set aside.
3. Melt 1/2 stick of butter over medium high heat in a skillet, add the spinach and saute a couple of minutes. Chop coarsely and place in a separate bowl.
4. Beat together the eggs, cheese, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Add about 2/3rds of the egg mixture to the carrot mixture and mix well. Add the remaining egg mixture to the spinach and mix well.
5. Spread half the carrot mixture over the bottom of the pan, cover with the spinach mixture and top with the remaining carrot mixture.
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover the loaf pan loosely with foil and place in a roasting pan. Add enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the loaf pan.
7. Bake about 1 hour 15 minutes or until a knife plunged into the center comes out clean.
8. Uncover, invert the loaf onto a serving platter and remove foil.