Description
This salad is perfect for lunch or dinner (or picnics!), with black rice and teff grain tossed with a sesame vinaigrette and sliced crispy jalapeños, juicy mandarin orange segments, sweet dried cranberries, cilantro, peppery scallions, and roasted peanuts (or any need or seed you choose). It is delicious!
Ingredients
Grains:
1 cup black Thai sweet rice, rinsed and drained
1 cup brown jasmine rice (or Thai red rice or long grain brown rice), rinsed and drained
1/4 cup teff grain (brown or ivory) -no need to rinse this first
3 cups water
Vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons agave
2 tablespoons GF soy sauce (or regular)
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
Salad:
3 cups cooked black rice teff mixture, packed (above)
2 mandarin oranges, peeled and separated into individual pieces
1 jalapeno, sliced
About 1/2 cup chopped cilantro (or more to taste)
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions
About 1/2 cup dried cranberries (or more to taste)
About 1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts (or more to taste)
Vinaigrette to taste
Optional: You can serve the grain salad over arugula or baby greens, if desired
Instructions
Combine the black rice, brown rice, and teff grain in a rice cooker bowl. Gently stir in the water, cover and set on the quick or regular rice setting. When the rice cooker is finished cooking, keep the lid closed and let sit for an additional 10 minutes to finish steaming. The rice should be tender and a little sticky.
While the rice mixture is cooking, make the vinaigrette. In a bowl, mix together the sesame oil, agave, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Adjust the seasonings to taste. Set aside.
Place 3 cups of the cooked rice mixture in a large bowl. Pour some of the dressing over, tossing well. You can add more dressing to taste. You may not need it all. Add the mandarin oranges, jalapeño, cilantro, scallions, cranberries, and peanuts. Adjust the seasonings to taste.
Serve the salad as is, or over baby salad greens or arugula.
Notes
You can make the rice mixture a couple of days ahead, and just warm up the rice slightly in the microwave (to plump it up).
You can also use a smaller amount of the rice mixture for a smaller salad.
The vinaigrette can be doubled and stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. It’s delicious on green salads!
