Scrambled Eggs, Cheese, and Avocado Tortilla Bowl Recipe
September 16, 2025
Mediterranean Brown Rice Salad Recipe
This Brown Rice Salad appears to be like approach too wholesome to style pretty much as good because it does! The recent dill and coriander/cilantro with the intense lemon dressing completely makes it. The peerlessly cooked, nutty brown rice helps. All the pieces else is customisable.
You didn’t actually suppose I’d share a quite uninteresting (however life important) put up for how one can cook dinner brown rice with out following it up with a particularly scrumptious approach to make use of it, did you??
Brown Rice Salad
This can be a Brown Rice Salad that aspires to be every thing you count on a rice salad to be (wholesome, filling, recent) and every thing you don’t count on it to be (can’t-stop-eating-it-good).
It’s additionally a rice salad that may shock these of you who grew up not realising such a factor existed. (Fairly certain that will be anybody with Asian mother and father 🙋🏻♀️).
It is rather, superb. It’s recent, juicy, shiny, and actually makes the a lot of the addictive nutty, barely chewy texture of brown rice although it may be made with any kind of cooked rice, or different grains for that matter (farro, pearl barley, tiny or big couscous).
Elements in Brown Rice Salad
Right here’s what I put into this brown rice salad – although you’ll see an intensive record of customisation recommendations beneath!
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Brown rice – solely completely cooked brown rice allowed in these components! No mushiness permitted 😉. Alternate options: any rice – regular or fancy (white, jasmine, basmati, wild and so forth), quinoa, and something rice-like formed comparable to farro, pearl barley, couscous;
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Cucumber & tomato – the freshness and juiciness;
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Pink onion – welcome sharp chunk. Alternate options: inexperienced onion, Eschallots/French shallots;
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Dill and coriander – probably the greatest recent herb mixtures for salads, in my humble opinion. I take advantage of it frequently – comparable to on this Pearl Couscous Salad and JP’s Iceberg Lettuce Salad; and
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Rocket / Arugula – I actually like including a little bit of inexperienced fluffage into any starch primarily based salad. For curiosity, further freshness and so as to add a distinct textural aspect. Alternate options: any sliceable leafy greens – child or regular spinach, kale (marinate it to make it softer), cabbage).
Customise the greens with any uncooked or cooked greens you need (diced and sautéed in a bit of oil maybe with some garlic, or roasted – attempt Roasted Eggplant. It’s superb!).
Elective Extras
It’s additionally proven topped with crispy golden slices of halloumi. Including some pan-kissed cheese is a significantly scrumptious method to elevate this salad to show-off standing (not not like a French Heat Goat’s Cheese Salad) or, you recognize, simply deal with your self 😂).
Lemon Dressing Elements
And right here’s what goes into the lemon dressing: lemon juice, garlic, mustard (for thickening), further virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
The way to make this Brown Rice Salad
Elevate it to meal standing
I do know I stated the crispy golden halloumi is elective, however everytime I see a photograph of it, I wish to take it again and make it a part of the bottom recipe!
The one cause why I received’t is as a result of I like that this salad is attention-grabbing and recent sufficient to be a facet salad OR a meal.
Additionally, even for those who don’t occur to have a block of halloumi in your fridge ready to pan fry to golden perfection, there’s loads of different methods to elevate it to meal standing:
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Crumble of feta
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Sprinkle of parmesan
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Dollop of yogurt
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Nuts – attempt flaked almonds (toasted), or walnuts, pepitas, sunflowers, cashews, pistachios, pine nuts
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Can of tuna, salmon or different fish
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Sliced poached chicken (tremendous juicy even fridge chilly for those who use this technique)
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Every other cooked protein that takes your fancy
What to serve with this Brown Rice Salad
This can be a great two-in-one facet salad for meals (ie starch + veg in a single dish) however attention-grabbing and vibrant sufficient to face by itself as a lightweight meal or as a part of a lunch unfold. Listed below are a couple of recommendations:
Mains for heat summer season nights
Fast meals
Salads for sharing – lunch with pals
Take pleasure in! – Johnsat x
PS Ah, I simply remembered! A couple of years in the past, I additionally shared a Cowboy Rice Salad. Enjoyable identify. Scrumptious to eat!
Watch how one can make it
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked brown rice , cooled but not cold
- 2 tomatoes , diced
- 2 cucumbers , diced (or 1 long English/continental cucumber)
- 1/2 red onion , chopped (sub 2 stems green onion)
- 40g/ 4 cups tightly packed baby rocket/arugula , roughly chopped (or baby spinach)
- 1/3 cup coriander/cilantro leaves , roughly chopped (Note 2)
- 1/3 cup fresh dill leaves , roughly chopped (Note 2)
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic cloves , minced using garlic press
- 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard (Note 3)
- 3/4 tsp salt , kosher/cooking salt (1/2 tsp table salt)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup black olive slices
- 200g/7oz halloumi , sliced then pan fried in a little olive oil until golden and crispy
- Other topping options: feta, parmesan, nuts (Note 4)
Instructions
- Place Dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well to combine.
- Place Salad ingredients in a big bowl. Drizzle over Dressing, toss well.
- Transfer to serving bowl. If using Halloumi, pile on top.
- Serve!
Notes
1. Salad veg – customisable with other raw or cooked veg (sautéed in a little oil, garlic, salt & pepper, or roasted).
2. Fresh herbs – this is one of my favourite fresh herb combinations for salads, they go together brilliantly and it really makes this salad something special. But if you don’t have them / have an aversion to coriander/cilantro, try one of these:
parsley or chives and dill
chives and parsley
just coriander/cilantro or dill (double up)
2 1/2 tsp oregano (add to dressing – will taste like a Greek Salad!)
2 tsp dried mixed herbs, or other dried herbs of choice
3. Dijon mustard – sub yellow mustard, or omit. Makes the dressing a wee bit thicker which is great for fine-grain type salads because it helps coat better.
4. Nut option suggestions – flaked almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, cashews, sunflower seeds, pepitas. I feel like peanuts would be odd, but someone may prove me wrong.
5. Storage – keeps for 3 days, though the tomato does looks perky juiciness the next day. I also like to either hold back some dressing to give it a fresh drizzle just before serving, or even a squeeze of fresh lemon and drizzle of olive oil will do the trick.
Most importantly though, SERVE AT ROOM TEMP. Cold rice is hard and not pleasant. If need be, give it 3 x 10 second zaps in the microwave to take the chill out of it.
LEFTOVER HALOUMI- pro tip: refrigerate cooked halloumi, then chop it into small batons and reheat in microwave. Toss through salad. So good!
6. Nutrition per serving, assuming 8 servings. Excellent veg+starch side dish for meals.
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