Rice Salad

June 26th, 2012 | Carbs, Favorites, Side Dishes | 0 Comments

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday with their family. The last few days have a been a blur, but they were a blur of bliss and we are so thankful to have our loved ones be so happy and healthy. The past three days have been filled with more food than I ever should have indulged in and while I'm thankful that we are blessed to have food on our tables, I really wish somebody would have cut me off!

I want to share one of the delicious dishes we enjoyed that is one of my husband's family favorites! It's his Grandma Taylor's rice salad.

The first time I had it, I was admittedly a little skeptical about cold rice. I'm a huge rice-lover as anyone who's been around here much knows about me, but cold rice? In a salad? Hmmmmm. I wasn't sure..... but one bite and I was hooked! This rice is a fabulous side dish to serve with just about any meat dish, but we had it with our ham on Christmas day.

Without a doubt, this dish must be made ahead of time, usually the day before so that the flavors can all meld together. I love dishes that can be made ahead of time and just popped out of the refrigerator before serving time. It usually means I don't have a big mess in the kitchen to clean up and that's a huge priority on Christmas. I made all of my salads and side dishes the day before so I would be able to enjoy the holiday with my family instead of separately while I slaved away in the kitchen! I've done that before and its NO FUN!

If you are preparing a meal or entertaining on New Year's Eve, I highly recommend you include this salad in your spread!

Ingredients:

1 cup rice {I used basmati, but white or even brown would work}
6 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon each Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/4 cup diced bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup green onions, green and white parts sliced thin
1/2 cucumber, seeds removed and diced
2 hard-boiled eggs {optional, for garnish}

Directions:

Cook rice according to package directions. I used slightly less water than was recommended on the package so that my rice would be a little bit more on the firm side.

As soon as rice is ready, fluff with a fork and mix in olive oil, vinegar, tarragon, salt and pepper until coated well.

Mix in diced pepper, parsley, onions and cucumber and stir well.

Allow salad to come to room temperature and then store in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.

When ready to serve, allow rice salad to come to room temperature and garnish with sliced hard-boiled eggs.

Rice Salad

Ingredients:

Directions:

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